It seems like EVERYBODY is doing a retrospective of the year 2005.. Some are serious, some are crazy, some are funny. I thought I'd give you a funny one -- an alternate history of 2005 pop culture, silly celebrity style. Enjoy!

News on the continuing struggle for press freedom in China, as journalists go on strike to protest Beijing's media control: BEIJING -- Reporters at a Beijing newspaper known for covering sensitive topics

Meet Major General Chai Hui-jen.  She is now the highest ranking woman in the history of the Taiwanese military and -- get this! -- she reaches the post after a long and distinguished academic career in both Taiwan and the US.  She s

Is the great state of Texas unhappy with the President?  That's what the headline says, yes? No, actually. The news story is about the Houston Texans football team and Heisman trophy-winning player Reggie Bush.  Oh!

A few days ago I posted on the ridiculous student lie about Mao's Little Red Book. Today I found this great commentary by a blogging professor.  She has this to say: Undergraduates don't want to d

Here is a rather interesting commentary on British education and rampant multiculturalism.  Here's a snippet: The QCA [that's the government's Qualifications and Curriculum Authority -- MM] fur

Well done and well earned accolades for 7-time Tour de France victor Lance Armstrong, who is the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for an unprecedented fourth time. Congratulations, Lance!   Best wishes for the future, and thanks f

I don't know about you, but I seem to remember a lot of EU nations and various environemntalists berating and scolding the US for not signing the Kyoto Treaty.  If you want to criticize the US, fine.  Go ahead.  But if you're going t

There is job discrimination, and then there is job discrimination in China which can be based on a crazy mix of astrological superstition and goofy sexism. I am not making this up!

Apologies to Claude Debussy, but this review really is a prelude to an afternoon of a faun! In the world of Narnia, Father Christmas finally comes to the winter-bound land, bringing great joy as he does.  In the spirit of this, I went to see &l

The BBC just reported that the booming Chinese economy is now the sixth-largest economy in the world. According to revised official figures from China's National Bureau of Statistics, Chinese GDP reached

The most telling bird flu-related headline is in a Canadian paper: "In the end, fear was the real pandemic." No kidding.  (I also like the opening lines: "You might say we dodged the pullet in 2005."  Ha!) The companio

Crazy news story about the science of time and timekeeping: Time marches on, but Earth is falling behind. The solution again this year is to add a "leap second" as 2005 ticks away, so Earth can

Unbelievable.  But here it is: A student at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth has admitted that he fabricated his claims of being interrogated by Department of Homeland Security officials

This may be even funnier and stranger than Adam Sandler's "Hanukkah Song." Check it out: some Star Wars fans have figured out a way to make a dreidel that looks like a droid . . . Yes, they've called it a "droidel"!  It look

Before Christmas ends entirely . . . Here is a history lesson worth remembering -- of what happened on Christmas Day in 1776, at the Delaware River that separates Pennsylvania from New Jersey. It was a pivotal moment in the American Revolution, thou

The Nativity by Domenico Ghirlandaio (1485); now in Florence MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It's finally December 24 -- Christmas Eve!  Santa Claus will be traveling the world tonight to deliver presents!!!! And this year, for the 50th year in a row, NORAD will be tracking Santa all night.  Go to the official NORAD Tracks Santa 2

This news story made me want to scream -- both because the event is such a nightmare for a student and also because the student was STUPID for not having a backup. When Linda Cerniglia went back to schoo

This video satire is just too funny . . . and reminded me of Monty Python. Turn up your speakers!

The latest satire is now online: "North Pole Rocked by Santa Spying Revelation"! Enjoy, gentle reader!

Well, I am home for the holidays and I intend to be merry! So today I am baking a lot of cookies. If you like Christmas cookies too, this is the database for you.  Over 500 cookie recipes! Christmas-Cookies.Com! What's your favorite cookie re

A recent post on Harvard opinions on the American military seems to have sparked a nice bit of conversation.  The core of the thing is perceptions and stereotypes of the US military as composed mostly of poor, uneducated, underprivileged people.

The entire satire is online now at my satire blog.  And if I have to explain the fake headline, then it wouldn't be funny. Will some people get offended?  Oh, probably.  Do I care?  Not really.  But seriously, every Asi

I'm off to the airport so I can go home for a few days for Christmas.  Yay!  No more school for now! Will be back online tomorrow!