Phil Rizzuto, the Hall of Fame Yankees shortstop, passed away today at age 89. He won 9 pennants and 7 World Series Championships with the Yankees between 1941 and ‘55. See here for his baseball statistics.
Holy Cow.
A boy named Max Hell is having trouble getting into an Australian Catholic School (via Maverick Philosopher).
Mr Hell said he initially decided to enrol Max at the school under his wife’s maiden name, to avoid the ridicule he himself had suffered as a schoolboy.
The decision won the support of the school’s head teacher and parish priest, he said.
But at the last minute, he and his wife decided against the name change.
Mr Hell claimed the priest refused to accept his son as Hell, and was told by the school’s head he had “made a rod for your son’s back”.
“It’s Hell. That’s our name, it’s our heritage,” Mr Hell told The Age newspaper. “It’s who he is, and if he wants to change his name at 18 then that’s up to him.”
For my uncultured readers, the title is a reference to Johnny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue.”
The subtitle to this Salon article about Hilary and Obama reads “In the Democratic presidential pack, the leading man is a woman and the leading woman is a man” (via Keith Burgess-Jackson). The article contrasts Obama’s appeal to female voters and Clinton’s perceived masculinity.
Clara Oleson, an Iowa Democrat and former labor lawyer, explained all these distinctions on a riverbank in Iowa City last week, while waiting to hear Clinton speak to a crowd of about 1,000. “Obama is the female candidate. Obama is the woman,” she said, after admitting that she was one of his supporters. “He is the warm candidate, self-deprecating, soft, tender, sad eyes, great smile.”
So what does that make Hillary Clinton? “She is the male candidate — in your face, authoritative, know-it-all.”
Articles like this make me doubt the merits of democracy. I can’t believe actually choosing a candidate based on who has “sad eyes.” What a pathetic reflection on our culture.
Illustration of the Liar’s Paradox in a Massachusetts Court
An interview between a potential juror and the judge illustrates the famous Liar’s Paradox. Daniel Ellis was trying to get out of jury duty. So on the questionnare given to potential jurors, he confessed to not liking homosexuals and blacks. In the interview with Judge Nickson, Ellis added that “I’m frequently found to be a liar, too. I can’t really help it.”
But how can we trust the words of a self-proclaimed liar? The judge then asked Ellis, “So, are you lying to me now?” Ellis answered “Well, I don’t know. I might be.” He then confessed to intentionally trying to avoid jury duty and was taken into custody. He may face perjury charges.
AMA: Video-Game Addicts Not “Addicts”
I suppose this is good news.
The American Medical Association on Wednesday backed off calling excessive video-game playing a formal psychiatric addiction, saying instead that more research is needed.
. . .
AMA delegates instead adopted a watered-down measure declaring that while overuse of video games and online games can be a problem for children and adults, calling it a formal addiction would be premature.
Law Students Are Emotional Wrecks
From the Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog (via Jill):
“The emotional distress of law students appears to significantly exceed that of medical students and at times approach that of psychiatric populations.” That’s the conclusion of a new study, suggesting that law school has a corrosive effect on the well-being, values and motivation of students.
That sounds about right.
Virginia Tech Professor Liviu Librescu saved his students’ lives by blocking the door with his body while they escaped out the window (via VC). Haaretz reports:
“My father blocked the doorway with his body and asked the students to flee,” Joe Librescu said from his home outside of Tel Aviv. …
“He himself was killed but thanks to him his students stayed alive,” an Israeli student who survived the massacre told Army Radio on Tuesday.
May God comfort his family among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
Secularization of Hispanic Immigrants
This New York Times article about Hispanic immigration and secularism is misleading (as I see Keith Burgess Jackson points out). It claims to describe the phenomenon of Hispanic immigrants rejecting the religion of their country of origin. Hence the title: “For Some Hispanics, Coming to America Also Means Abandoning Religion.” Yet, the instances documented in the article imply that while Church membership and attendence may fall among immigrants, belief in God doesn’t. Consider a few of those interviewed. (more…)