pending a bending

A judge ruled that Google subsidiary YouTube must provide Viacom, which is suing over copyright claims, with details of the viewing habits of everyone who has logged in and watched a video. Is that OK with you? It's not with me. Anthropology be damned: we document too much of our lives already. Leave a puzzle or two for the future already. Geez.

Lots of UFOs over the UK lately. Someone else noticed, too.

Psychologist Himanshu Tyagi claimed that children raised to use online social networking sites will "put less value on their real world identities" and may be in danger of "impulsive behavior or even suicide." Almost exactly what I've been saying about them, myself: that they denigrate the idea and nature of friendship. When 'relationships' begin and end with the click of a mouse button, they're probably not very fulfilling or rewarding.

What's Karl Rove up to these days?

Why, you may wonder, am I not all bent out of shape over Bushcheney's wiretapping plan? Because I've presumed that the USGov't has been listening in on our phone calls and mining our data since Reagan was in office. Why haven't you? What possible reality-based reason could you have, for trusting our government? Pray tell.

This attitude of mine does leave me wondering, though: how naive do our senators think we are? I appreciate the work of people like Senator Levin, but really- isn't this like offering an aspirin for a broken hot water heater or something? I mean- nice gesture, but ...how/what is this supposed to help?

Today is the Melon Holiday (Turkmenistan). Muskmelon for everyone!
On this day in 1040 CE, in an early precursor to Melon Day, Lady Godiva rode bare naked, sidesaddle one would hope, to force her husband Leofric, the Earl of Mercia, to lower taxes. Some say she did it on a dare from ol' Leofric, irrelevant of the tax issue.
In 1509, John Calvin was born. History began to slow down, and eventually reversed itself entirely as Calvin's ideas became religious doctrine.

No, really.

In 1856, Nikola Tesla was born. A truly amazing intellect.
In 1850, Millard Fillmore assumed the Presidency, after Zachary Taylor’s death.
In 1895, Carl Orff was born.

Somebody's gettin' sloppy. Simple exhaustion, or has the preponderance of lies finally destroyed their ability to communicate?