The world’s oldest mouse, Yoda, turns 136, sort of. The mutant dwarf mouse (whose cage-mate is Princess Leia) has demonstrated that longevity is possible without extreme dietary restrictions, turning an unheard-of (in mice, anyway) 4 years old. It’s not exactly crystal clear how 4 years translates into 136, but, as Richard A. Miller, M.D., Ph.D., […]
Super Mice will kill us all
Posted by Ben on April 13, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/super-mice-will-kill-us-all/
There’s good writing, and then there’s Good Writing
Jimmy Breslin’s April 9 column rocks, as usual. As always. It’s devastatingly brilliant. It’s clever and biting, but without being hateful or alienating. Anyway, point being: read it. You really should, though no one’s going to bend your arms backwards, hold a gun to your head, etc. (via Newsday: “Her memory lives as a bureaucrat […]
Posted by Ben on April 12, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/theres-good-writing-and-then-theres-good-writing/
It could happen to YOU
Although admittedly, the chances are pretty slim. “The caller to the Phoenix-area Taco Bell said he was a police officer and informed the manager there was a thief on the premises. Someone’s pocketbook was missing, the caller said, ordering that a female customer be detained and strip-searched in a back office. “But there was no […]
Posted by Ben on April 12, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/it-could-happen-to-you/
Photomosaics for Political Debate
If you haven’t yet had the chance to stumble across this image at American Leftist, go see; the one above is vastly smaller and doesn’t do a very good job of provoking critical thought, since, you know, it’s kinda hard to see what all the little pictures are. Once you get to the bigger version […]
Posted by Ben on April 11, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/photomosaics-for-political-debate/
Rats On Parade
From The Guardian:
“The graffiti artist Banksy has managed to smuggle in his latest work, a dead rat in a glass-fronted box, into the Natural History Museum where it was exhibited on a wall for several hours.
Staff did not notice that the rat was out of place amid the museum’s usual fare of dinosaur bones and artefact from the animal kingdom.
The rat was stuffed and clad in wraparound sunglasses, scaled down to fit the top of its head, a rucksack on its back, and with a microphone in one paw.
Posted by Ben on April 8, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/rats-on-parade/
Define “Mercenary”
The recent mess with Blackwater has—understandably—riled some tempers, fueled some angry debates, etc., the word “mercenary” often slung about in no uncertain terms. No uncertain terms which have often remained somewhat uncertain on account of no one really bothering to seriously puzzle over what meaning, exactly, mercenary has in the context of the conflict in […]
Posted by Ben on April 7, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/define-mercenary/
Ikea Redux
Did you hear the story about how IKEA founder, Ingvar Kamprad, recently surpassed Bill Gates as the world’s richest man? Well, it’s true, except that it’s not. (The quick explanation is, it depends how you divvy up IKEA’s wealth, and how much you say Kamprad [who gave up full control of the company in 1982] […]
Posted by Ben on April 7, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/ikea-redux/
Moving into a warmer world
“Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have jumped abruptly, raising fears that global warming may be accelerating out of control. “Measurements by US government scientists show that concentrations of the gas, the main cause of the climate exchange, rose by a record amount over the past 12 months. It is the third successive year […]
Posted by Ben on April 6, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/moving-into-a-warmer-world/
What Makes Us Violent?
The Globe and Mail has a fantastic article on aggression, delving into deep philosophical and psychological issues of what exactly makes violent people violent.
Hint: It’s not TV.
(Or videogames.)
The article focuses mostly on the work of Dr. Richard Tremblay, who the article cites as “one of the world leaders in aggression studies.” It’s interesting stuff.
Posted by Ben on April 4, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/what-makes-us-violent/
Vultures in Peril
“Only a decade ago, millions of Asian vultures lived in Pakistan, India, and Nepal. These enormous raptors provided an effective method of removing dead livestock, preventing the spread of diseases. They played a similar role with human corpses, ritualized in the “sky burials” of the Parsi religion. … “Then huge numbers of these birds began […]
Posted by Ben on April 3, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/vultures-in-peril/