MSNBC says everything you know about beating stress is wrong. One of 6 of their counter-intuitive suggestions on how to relieve stress: Hanging out with loved ones has long been touted as an instant mood-booster, but according to new scientific evidence, when it comes to managing stress, the calming effects of spending time with a furry friend trump those obtained by hanging … [Read more...] about Stressed? Cuddle Up With Your Pet
Israel and miracles in Egypt
Algerians and Yemenis are in the streets risking their lives against dictatorships more brutal and venal than that of the deposed Hosni Mubarak but their faith in the Egyptian people’s triumph is premature. Although the repressive constitution and rubber-stamp parliament have been suspended, the bare fact is that the state has slipped into full military rule. Egyptians are far … [Read more...] about Israel and miracles in Egypt
Food Glorious (Industrial?) Food
Regular readers know I fancy myself a foodie -- part locavore, part organic. And I have been known to be a harsh critic of the industrial food system. (See, for example, here, here, here and here.) So when, over the weekend, I finally got 'round to listening to Part 2 of the Freakonomics podcasts on food, Waiter, There’s a Physicist in My Soup!, I was struck by the simple, … [Read more...] about Food Glorious (Industrial?) Food
China’s Economy Now Tops Japan’s (the U.S.’s Next?)
Another milestone for China: it's economy is now bigger than Japan's -- and if it keeps the pace of growth up, it will over take the U.S. as well. CNN has this fascinating report: … [Read more...] about China’s Economy Now Tops Japan’s (the U.S.’s Next?)
Local CBS Reporter Serene Branson: On the Air Stroke?
The Internet is abuzz with the clip below which is appearing on various websites: local CBS reporter Serene Branson having what appears to be an on-the-air-stroke or at least a mini-stroke. According to Mediaite, the latest reports indicate she was not hospitalized but checked out by a paramedic and allowed to go home with a friend. It's a short but scary clip: … [Read more...] about Local CBS Reporter Serene Branson: On the Air Stroke?
Class War In America Ends: Rich Declared The Winners
Here's the American economy today in a nutshell: Austerity for the poor and middle class; fat city for the rich. Much of this woeful tale is encapsulated in budget numbers coming from both Washington and state capitals. With regard to the former: Late last year two "compromises" between Mr. Change and Hope and Republican bullies in Congress are projected to cost the … [Read more...] about Class War In America Ends: Rich Declared The Winners
The Problem With Tape-Delay in the Age of Twitter
Lost Remote's Cory Bergman explains: While viewers in most of the U.S. were wrapping up the live broadcast of The Grammy Awards, viewers on the West Coast were just getting started with the tape-delayed version, airing at 8 p.m. PT. As is customary for many viewers now, many on the left coast opened their Twitter and Facebook accounts to chat along with the action — just in … [Read more...] about The Problem With Tape-Delay in the Age of Twitter
Ghosts at the Grammys
This is foreign correspondence, reporting from an alien time and space, on the Grammy Awards. The music industry seems to have been infiltrated by the Tea Party as the multiple winner is Lady Antebellum, a white-bread trio looking like well-behaved children of old Nashville who could make Sarah Palin's "A" list. Even CBS, which telecast the event, is caught off guard with … [Read more...] about Ghosts at the Grammys
Gabrielle Giffords Briefly Talks and Mouths Song Lyrics
Here's hopeful news that will lift the spirits of all Americans who have a heart: one month after being shot, Gabrielle Giffords is briefly talking -- and mouthing the lyrics to songs. The operative question now is whether the hopes that this further raises match realistic medical realities. But hope has reason to spring eternal: Representative Gabrielle Giffords, an … [Read more...] about Gabrielle Giffords Briefly Talks and Mouths Song Lyrics
A World War II Valentine’s Story
How many of us remember our first young love? Probably quite a few. However, if that first romance occurred some 70 years ago, how many would still remember it well enough and still cherish it deeply enough to write a screenplay for a movie celebrating such love? That is exactly what 90-year-old, World War II veteran John Tschirhart has been dedicating virtually every … [Read more...] about A World War II Valentine’s Story
Thank God CPAC Isn’t the Oval Office
Like I said, if George W. Bush or any of the current Republican contenders for the White House were there right now, this mentality would not be confined to the nutcases who show up at CPAC -- it would be driving U.S. policy toward Egypt and in the Middle East in general. … [Read more...] about Thank God CPAC Isn’t the Oval Office
Top Ten Cloves: Ideas For Mayor Dave Bing To Save Detroit (Guest Voice)
Top Ten Cloves: Ideas For Mayor Dave Bing To Save Detroit by J. Thomas Duffy News Item: Mayor of Detroit welcomes any ideas to save troubled city 10. Tell those 400 Super Bowl Fans who got mushed, that you won't let them down, that you have 400 seats for them in Detroit 9. Get on the phone with Dolly Parton and see if the two of can brainstorm "Detroitwood." 8. … [Read more...] about Top Ten Cloves: Ideas For Mayor Dave Bing To Save Detroit (Guest Voice)
Can Obama Be Luke Skywalker?
WASHINGTON -- Welcome to the war over E2I2. The great budget battle of Bill Clinton's presidency was waged around a slightly different set of initials, also inspired by the "Star Wars" character R2D2. Clinton's lieutenants jauntily encapsulated his fight against Republican cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, education and the environment as a defense of M2E2. For … [Read more...] about Can Obama Be Luke Skywalker?
Egypt’s Military Dissolves Parliament: Imposes Martial Law
Egypt's military has dissolved Parliament and imposed martial law -- but the steps are not being criticized widely since they are seen as the first steps in moving Egypt back to a more traditional model of democracy: Egypt's generals imposed martial law on Sunday, dissolving parliament and suspending the constitution, moves that many of the protesters who helped topple … [Read more...] about Egypt’s Military Dissolves Parliament: Imposes Martial Law
Fall of Dictators
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Fall of Dictators
Search Is Awesome
The NYTimes printed a piece yesterday titled, The Dirty Little Secrets of Search. In it they detail how J. C. Penney achieved the top rank in Google search results through a black hat Search Engine Optimization scheme. The Times documented 2,015 pages from hundreds of sites scattered all around the Web that each linked directly back to JCPenney.com. J. C. Penney fired its … [Read more...] about Search Is Awesome
U.S. Shows Us, Free Speech is ‘Easier said than Done’: Nan Fang Daily, People’s Republic of China
One of the more ironic experiences in modern journalism is to translate criticism of the American media from China's state-controlled version. This article from China's state-run Nan Fang Daily takes a a few digs at America's "free press" by examining the recent controversy surrounding the firing of commentator Juan Williams by publicly-funded National Public Radio and his … [Read more...] about U.S. Shows Us, Free Speech is ‘Easier said than Done’: Nan Fang Daily, People’s Republic of China
House Does Wodehouse
From time to time I like to toss in a non political post and offer some entertainment ideas for the readers of TMV. For most US television viewers, Hugh Laurie is best known as Dr. House on the television series of the same name. But as many of you may know Laurie is actually English and his House character is done with an American accent. Prior to House he had a … [Read more...] about House Does Wodehouse
Birth of Our Catch-22 World
How many people plant an expression in the English language that half a century later becomes shorthand for the state of the world? As Obama's dilemmas on the economy and the Middle East are labeled "Catch-22s," I recall my friend Joseph Heller whose novel of that name has become shorthand for no-win situations of insane proportions. Back then, Joe seemed an unlikely … [Read more...] about Birth of Our Catch-22 World
Israel’s Choices (Guest Voice)
Israel's choices by Prairie Weather Israel has three options, according to Daniel Levy of the New America Foundation, writing today in Haaretz. We have been offered two broad approaches by Israeli establishment voices. One has been to dig in, to convince the West that we are its outpost of stability in a sea of hostility, and to attempt to make our favorite adage of … [Read more...] about Israel’s Choices (Guest Voice)