The resident faculty hopped along their weekly trek this morning. They looked ridiculous, so we hope this was a clue and not a new tradition. (More)
The resident faculty usually walk, or wobble, as they make their way from the wine cellar library where they spend the weekend drinking thinking on our motto of Magis vinum, magis verum (“More wine, more truth”) to the hot tub faculty lounge for their weekly game where the underwear goes flying planning conference. This morning they hopped. Gastronomic concern prevents further description. Suffice it to say: be glad you didn’t see it, and we hope it’s not the start of a new tradition. Instead, we think it was a clue.
Things have been hopping at BPI lately. For example, last Monday and Wednesday in Evening Focus, rb137 explored what physicists know about the universe, and how they know it. Last Tuesday and Wednesday in Morning Feature, Professor of Topofclassclownistics JanF Dug Deeper into free speech issues. And last Tuesday in Evening Focus, JanF hosted our live-blog of President Obama’s State of the Union Address. All were good discussions and are worth reading if you missed them.
And things will keep hopping at the BPI campus this week. Starting tonight in Evening Focus, Roby NJ will host a three-day series on how cognitive dissonance shapes our political dialogue. This Tuesday and Wednesday in Morning Feature, Professor of Bathtublueberrywhisperology addisnana will Dig Deeper into the urban/rural political divide. And Thursday and Friday in Evening Focus, HurrikanEagle will host a two-day series on Kentucky House Bill 208, which would mandate drug and alcohol screening for people who receive state aid, in defiance of a 2008 federal court decision. As always, Chef will brighten the room with coffee and bagels, and the Professor of Astrology Janitor will brighten the floor with his cleaners and buffer.
Note: At present, we have no Morning Feature guest lectures scheduled for next Tuesday or Wednesday (February 8th and9th). Evening Focus is full this week, but we have openings next Monday through Friday (February 7th to 11th). We also have openings for our campus soapbox Furthermore!, our afternoon people-watching series Midday Matinee, and our evening environmental series Our Earth.
If you are already a BPI Author, you will find a complete list of category openings in the Authors Notepad in your Dorm Room. To reserve a slot, type in your user name, topic, and date, and click βSave Notes.β I will remove your note when I add you to our Schedule.
If you are not yet a BPI Author and would like to contribute at BPI, please contact the BPI Webmistress.
Also: Please share your stories of offline activism in Things We Did This Week.
That leaves the distressing specter of the resident faculty hopping around. Maybe they were simply delighted that the campus has been hopping (as noted above). Maybe they plan to institute a new Institute tradition (perish the thought). Or maybe they thought hopping looked better than leaning on each other like adjacent parentheses – )( – (it didn’t).
But the staff have decided it was a clue. Specifically, we think they plan to hop around from one topic to another this week, touching on miscellaneous ideas that never quite fit into and won’t quite fill up a series.
At least that’s what we hope. In fact, we hope it so much that Chef offered a plate of pasta to the Flying Spaghetti Monster, just in case. Because if the resident faculty hopping is a new tradition, the staff will need much darker sunglasses … even at night.
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Happy Monday!
Today in Des Moines, the debate over gay marriage is going to take place again. The Republicans, who control the state House and the governor’s mansion, want to pass the first resolution needed to get new wording into the Iowa constitution to define marriage as being between one man and one woman. The Democratic-controlled senate is pretty much saying debate all you want, but we aren’t going to pass it in the Senate. If they can stay on that message, then the process will be delayed for another two years.
I still haven’t heard of one straight marriage in this state that has failed because Iowa now allows same-sex marriage. You’d think that the opponents would be looking for that marriage to back up their argument against it, but will see if they keep the same old arguments or come up with some new ones now.
That sounds like the U.S. Congress. The House of Representatives is going for Legislative Theater rather than the people’s business because the U.S. Senate is saying fuggidaboudit.
At the federal level we have one more firewall: President Obama. You guys unfortunately have no safety net beyond your senate.
I’m glad the Iowa Senate will block this. This spring seems to be the season for newly-elected Republicans to throw red meat to their base. I suppose it’s to be expected, and so long as Democrats have the votes to stop it somewhere – in the Iowa Senate or the U.S. Senate – it’s an annoying nuisance. Alas, in Florida and some other state legislatures, Democrats don’t have the votes anywhere … and it’s going to be worse than annoying….
Good morning! ::hugggggs::
Good. Republicans. Keep your focus squarely on the 19th century.
Looks like a great week coming up. π I think it’ll be fun to discuss a series of topics that don’t quite make a series. Looking forward to everything.
Well, “hop around from one topic to another this week, touching on miscellaneous ideas that never quite fit into and wonβt quite fill up a series” sounds better than “I haven’t a clue what I want to write about yet….”
Good morning! ::hugggggs::
LOL, Crissie. Okay. But I still like the idea of hopping around.
From TPM:
Personally, I think it is an affront to primates to suggest that Republicans are related to them.
Hey DWG thanks,
LOL β LOL β LOL β LOL β LOL β LOL β LOL β LOL β LOL β LOL β LOL β LOL β LOL β LOL β LOL β LOL β LOL β
Almost had a coffee spew moment. Have learned not to drink coffee before I read anyone’s post.
Well, I don’t believe in gravity because I think it’s absurd that all matter sucks. Alas, as certain body parts remind me, whether I believe in gravity is entirely irrelevant to the question of whether gravity exists. As physicist Brian Greene once said on The Colbert Report, “The universe doesn’t care what you believe.”
Good morning! ::hugggggs::
I do find it fascinating that conservatives continue to debate the merits of the most important theory in biology in the 21st century. Too bad they spend less energy on debating economic issues than on fighting the cultural wars to appease their base.
I heard a rumor that gravity exerts greater force on Republicans because they already suck.
Okay:
That made me choke on my coffee!
Thanks for making me chuckle. I do believe that physically hopping around is best left for those younger but metaphorically hopping around sounds like a nice change of pace.
And I am really looking forward to this week’s Evening Focus series and will stay up past my bedtime to read and comment.
One more programming note. On Saturday on Evening Focus we are launching Silly Saturday where it is okay to laugh and you can bring your funny bone. We can’t promise it will be humerus but it will be a nice “break” from some of the carpaling we see on the Internets. (Those other blogs … not ours. π )
Okay, that made me snort coffee, which is quite painful, Jan. Nice string of puns. π
Imagine several very old Jell-O molds – the ones relatives bring but nobody eats at holiday gatherings – bouncing down the…. Wait, I said gastronomic concern prevented further description. Oops….
Silly Saturday sounds fun. I can’t wait, in fact….
Good morning! ::hugggggs::
The thought of Silly Saturday has me doing a happy dance!
Incredible social commentary by The Onion:
A couple of other brilliant snippets:
… and …
Genius.
Hey! I’ve seen that … thinking … thinking. Oh yeah HEMMED In – So just who are these guys?. π
Sorry, I missed it on HI. Awfully smart satire and social commentary.
That Onion piece was so perfect and so spot on that I felt I needed to put it somewhere where I could find it again. So I wrote my HEMMED In. Ha.
That “divine authority” quote could have been written after reading some past Morning Feature commentary, don’t you think?
It is too perfect.
As I read it, I was reminded of the court jesters of a bygone age. The jesters were the only ones allowed to mock the king, but had to do it with flair and humor.