Best of 2005.... (1)

- best invention (adapted without permission from the Washington Post) -
Spanish designer Pep Torres developed the "your turn" washing machine, which helps frustrated couples where only one partner does all the clothes washing. Owners register their fingerprints and the machine will only function if the same set of prints are not used twice in a row.(BBC News, May 1). What happens when one partner is on vacation? Or if the couple gets a divorce?

US "spy court" judge quits

Read the original story in the Washington Post if you are subscribed or a poorer version on CNN.

Why is it that everything Bush says is predictable, especially related to his administration's latest scandal? The issue is not about spying on Americans per se, it's about doing it without the checks and balances on the executive. See Daniel Benjamin's piece in Slate for a perspective on this issue.

yummy holiday food 1

Living in a country obsessed with Good food (as opposed to Any food), I am blessed with the ability to partake in the enjoyment of said foods. I am not a vegetarian, nor lactose intolerant, nor concerned about animal's rights in the food production industry. Well, to some extent. Foie gras poses the most difficult conundrum for me. I LOVE the stuff. Seriously, it is so good that I can not imagine a holiday season without it. But I do pity the geese and duck which live in horrendous conditions to provide this feast on my plate. I guess I'll just have to drink more champagne to absolve myself. I am not a cruel person, but foie gras is sooooooo delectable.

The treatment of the animals was the subject of a recent debate in the French Senate. The conclusion was that "Le foie gras fait partie du patrimoine culturel et gastronomique protégé en France." Another example of the exception culturelle en France.

Christmas lights

- Les Galeries Lafayette et le Printemps boulveard Haussmann exposent leurs vitrines de noël depuis le 4 novembre. Malgré un nombre supérieur d'animations de la vie d'une princesse, les GL perdent le match cette année. Le Printemps, sur le thème anglais, animent ses vitrines avec des peluches très British.



- Aux US, les maisons individuelles dans les banlieues ou à la campagne ont l'habitude de décorer leurs maisons avec des gigantesques statues sur leur pelouse ou avec des lumières qui adornent leur toit, fenêtres, etc. The left hand column of this website has a great list of excessive displays.


- Voici un exemple inouï (de l'année dernière avec plus de 16000 ampoules) de la maison de la famille Carson à Mason, près de Cincinnati, Ohio. Ne ratez pas vidéo 1 et vidéo 2!


La famille Carson devant leurs illuminations de cette année

- L'hôtel de ville de Philadelphie décoré pour les fêtes

- Longwood Gardens dans la banlieue de Philadelphie

stealing off other blogs for humour...

i am being lazy in not thinking of my own humourous topic (although that guy in the metro drooling while AWAKE could be the subject of one). so i will share this one. There's no sound, so don't be shy and wait till you get home to read it.

Face implant story

In May, a 38-year old woman was attacked by her labrador-mix dog, while she was alseep or drugged out on tranquiliers (suicide undetermined) and stepped on the dog. After losing part of her nose, chin and mouth, she tried to lead a regular life but was frustrated with being teased and taunted despite the surgical mask that covered her scars. She followed the regular advisory path for transplant patients (ie psychological testing, information, future health concerns) before French doctors to perform the world's first partial face transplant in late November. The patient appears to be recovering well. Yet, critics, including the National Consultative Ethics Committee (Comité consultatif national d’éthique - CCNE) and doctors working on the technique, believe that the surgery was premature for both medical and psychological reasons and should not have been conducted. The ethics committee had rejected a full facial transplant but left open the option of a partial transplant.

Another media ball game is in play. Doctors tried to keep her identity unknown but the British and French press revealed photos from before, during and after the operation.

A few takes:
- NPR
- NYT "Ethical Concerns on Face Transplant Grow"
- Apparently reports that the donor (who had to have the face removed before she was taken off ventilators) was brain dead because she tried to hang herself might not be true.
- Dr. Dubernard - also a French member of parliament - defends his team's stance.

On a personal note: I find that the dog part of the story seems flaky. Labs are supposed to be the sweetest dogs - maybe it was mixed with a Belgian shepherd? Can people stop making fun of the fact that I am afraid of chihuahuas? The dog was put to sleep and, apparently, the woman bought a smaller dog.

For bébémoche

ID the NYT columist...

Fun little quiz here.

Found it while looking for a NYT password to read the op-eds. I can't seem to bother people directly for one. Feel free to send one along...

NO update

Death of an American City

I missed the 100 day post-Katrina mark by a few days.

Here's a non-times select op-ed contribution by a person I respect: 7 December 2005.

cynicism

maybe this is how a good blog works (or at least gets read more often)...
i (along with many others) receive an email from a friend:

If you're receiving this e-mail it's because I miss you deeply. That or I need a favor, right?

Okay, you got me. My friend Dave and I just started a blog and we need lots of visitors and feedback. We'd love it if you visited: theapollocreed.blogspot.com

Let us know what you think of the site. Give us story ideas and tell us if you'd like to contribute. We're looking for more writers!!!

Google video excludes France

So a friend of a friend blogger has this link which I will now obsessively want to see. http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=hung+up cannot be viewed in France and they really appreciate my patience.

Attack of the kitchen sponge in mid-town

Fruitcake #1 present

Adding to Bebemoche's entry on fruitcakes, I declare that the fruitcake is the number 1 Christmas present this year offered by people from the South. My father, a former Texan, has been a faithful fruitcake purchaser for his siblings for 15 years running. The Collins DeLuxe (sic) Fruitcake from Corsicana, TX. is world-famous thanks to him - it has been shipped all over the world to follow my aunt's moving cycles.

Bangalore - brasserie capital of the world

Bangalore, India is a hip, happening city according to latest news reports. Religion, hard work and beer guzzling define the average Bangalore inhabitant. Women wear a veil, but also spend their weekend nights in libation overload. Hotel rooms are amongst the most expensive in the world and $80 will get you a mosquito-blood-stained wall cubicle.

Pakistan update

Courtney asked me this morning if anyone was talking about the aftermath of the earthquake. Here is what I found:
- A week ago, the British government announced additional aid.
- Harsh winter weather responsible for increase in children with pneumonia. 8 inches of snow fell this past weekend.
- Funds are short for current emergencies, even though more than $6 billion in aid was pledged to Pakistan (most earmarked for reconstruction).
- Mr. and Mrs. Smith (aka Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt) visit Pakistan during Thanksgiving. The goodwill ambassador for UNHCR found the scale of devastation "huge".

Pakistan update

Courtney asked me this morning if anyone was talking about the aftermath in Pakistan. Here is what I found out:
- A week ago, the British government announced additional aid.
- Harsh winter weather responsible for increase in children with pneumonia. 8 inches of snow fell this past weekend.
- Funds are short for current emergencies, even though more than $6 billion in aid was pledged to Pakistan (most earmarked for reconstruction).
- Mr. and Mrs. Smith (aka Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt) visit Pakistan during Thanksgiving. The goodwill ambassador for UNHCR found the scale of devastation "huge".

Le jour de l'action de grâce...

Thanksgiving news (from Harper's weekly email):
President Bush issued pardons to two turkeys, which were then sent to Disneyland to serve as grand marshals at a parade. "The granting of the turkey pardon," said the President, "is not a responsibility that I take lightly." The turkeys, Marshmallow and Yam, earned their pardons when they beat out Democracy and Freedom in an online poll.

Apparently the names are given after the turkeys are pardoned. Final scores available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/holiday/thanksgiving/2005/

Employment head considers multiple wives

Who says I can't have more than one wife?

French deputy minister Larcher and a few others think polygamy is at the root of youth violence in France. Who knew Utah was such a mess?

U.S. Cites Top Violators of Religious Liberties

In addition to the usual suspects, Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Vietnam, a few other countries made the State Department's list. These other countries include France, Belgium, Germany and Pakistan and were accused of continuing "to use restrictive legislation and practices to brand minority religions as dangerous 'cults' or 'sects'" (quote from non-US paper). Who would have guessed? hmmpf...

obsession about flaming images

i keep hearing a lot of controversy about whether France should be showing images of the burning buildings, firefighters, etc on TV. i'm sick of it.

i don't pretend that i watch a lot of TV but i have been seeing more coverage of the 'live' footage on US and UK channels - meaning more flames. The French news (i don't have the pay 24h news channel, LCI) shows some burning images as well as extinguished/burned cars. The reporting also shows images and interviews of the youth, local community leaders, parents and politicians. What's wrong with that?

while CNN and Fox News are showing the same burning buildings over and over, French TV is airing live roundtable debates with various actors and interested folks.

in fact, news channels here are purposefully limiting raw images and counting numbers on TV because they think that was inciting gangs to compete against each other for the 'most' cars, etc...

The WSJ has it wrong. Here are excerpts since that link will soon die:
Only the French themselves aren't necessarily watching the same thing as the rest of the planet.... The country's largest private television network, TF1, refrains from airing footage of burning cars or buildings. ... The state-owned television channels, France 2 and France 3, have stopped reporting on the number of cars torched by rioting young immigrants every night. ... Explaining their restraint, TV execs say that they want to avoid inciting further violence. We've quibbled with al Jazeera's news judgment in airing any al Qaeda video that comes its way. But the riots in France have become a "national emergency," as President Jacques Chirac declared yesterday, playing out in the streets of the country's cities. Pretending otherwise won't help France understand or come to grips with the problems in the burning banlieues that have caught most of France -- certainly, consumers of its television news -- by surprise. They shouldn't have been.

this last bit is ridiculous. France is not pretending that there is no problem here. Read the written press - it is all people are writing about. Does no one read anymore? Blasting images does not make a problem real or more serious. What about showing images of community leaders protecting a building during a night vigil? Or interviews with parents who are at a loss? or community leaders who don't agree with the governments decisions? where are these images on the US and UK news?