I'm not sure what surprises me more -- it is a nice sort of surprise, I'll admit -- that a professor is arguing for a palce in society for Christianity or that the professor is from the Kremlin-on-the-Charles, Harvard.Take a look at this opinion piec

Oh, Canada.  Ohhhhhhhh, Canada.The 2005 World Masters Games are currently being held in Edmonton, Canada.  The Taiwanese athletes there protested strongly yesterday because Canada has banned the Taiwanese flag from those games.  Here's a blurb fro

I'm not making this up!Here's a story even better than the Japanese ramen wars of a few days' past . . . Ramen in space for Japanese astronauts!  No, REALLY!Jul. 27--OSAKA -- Nissin Food Products Co. showcased on Wednesday a vacuum packed instant no

Check it out, gentle reader!Japanese scientists have created their latest android -- and it looks so much like a human being it's rather bemusing.  Her name is Repliee Q1.    Yes, her name.  Professor Ishiguro believes that it may prove possible

Well, here's another of those Asian headlines you don't see every day . . . It's from Ilan."Four Arrested in Green Onion Price-Hike Shocker"

Right on the heels of Italy arrested the fourth suspect in the London bombing attempt, more news that Italy is indeed engaged in the war on terror.  The Italian Senate has just approved new anti-terror measures.  Some of the measures are sure to be

Those British cops are something else -- hats off to Scotland Yard and the new breed of armed-to-the-teeth bobbies, who have apparently arrested 3 of the July 21 bombers.  Three out of four ain't bad, right?Add the Italians into the mix and call it

Gentle reader, I justt received this from a dear friend of mine, reporting on a grad school buddy now fighting in Iraq.I give you now his fabulous quote from overseas: "On the whole, Fallujah is better than grad school."This speaks volumes

I don't believe it.  The New York Times just published an op-ed piece that supports profiling in the fight against terrorism.  It's by Paul Sperry of the Hoover Institution, and here's a piece of it:IN response to the serial subway bombings in Lond

The latest that I've heard is this:According to the Sankei Shimbun, the Liberal Democratic Party and its ruling coalition partner Komeito, as well as the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, reached a consensus on Tuesday that a special bill will be

I'm at the halfway mark of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince -- chapter 15.I have to admit, so far I haven't been too . . . well, let's just say it bluntly . . .  haven't been too impressed.   For me the best books in the series have been the

Here's a quirky Asian headline you don't see everyday: "Hsieh Hails Glutinous Rice Bridge."As it happens, the bridge is indeed actually constructed out of glutinous rice.  Who knew?The severely damaged Glutinous Rice Bridge in Nantou's Kuo

This is well nigh hilarious!It's a list of currently popular edu-jargon terms.  If you play this drinking game at a Nerdmoot meeting on teaching methods and philosophies, you'll be passed out from alcohol poisoning within oh, about 3 nanoseconds. 

I don't know whether to be amused or appalled.  You read this wee satire and tell me, gentle reader!Here's a glance at the proposed episodes -- I'll just give you Episode 4:But think about how much more interesting the competition will be as graduat

It's really kind of funny, yet really kind of . . . well, sad.A team of researchers (i.e., nerds) at Imperial College London have come up with a mathematical formula to impress chicks.  Guess what -- these nerds discovered that wining and dining are

The latest in the ugly wrangle in Taipei over whether to purchase more arms from the US.  (My view on this is clear:  Buy. Those. Weapons. *NOW*!)The president is most displeased with the opoosition for blocking the purchase of new advanced weapons

Congratulations, Lance!

Nerd tech!Check out the new Paper PC pen that can digitize everything it writes!<!-- google_ad_region_start=article_body --><!-- body text start -->PARIS -- Three French companies, with an assist from the Finns and the Swedes, have combi

Such glorious chutzpah!Italy's colorful prime minister Silvio Berlusconi (whom I do love to watch) has just taken a potshot at his left-wing critics by publishing a book of their insults.  It's entitled "Berlusconi Ti Odio" -- "Berlus

More ridiculous word games.  Now it's not "sensitive" to say some kid failed if some kid actually failed in school -- now you ought to say the kid has "deferred success."  WHAT????!!!London - The word "fail" should be

Given today's events in London, it seems a great time to link to this excellent piece by the British professor Norman Geras (emeritus, professor of government at the University of Manchester), one of the few academics who seems to have a grip on real

It is sickeningly similar to the bombings that happened 2 weeks ago.  The major difference is that this time ththere are no mass casulaties.I was flipping channels while watching the Tour de Lance when I heard the breaking news.  Here's the latest

Asia blogger MeiZhongTai is all over this one, so I'll just direct you, gentle reader, to this very useful entry packed full of links and excerpts from the Pentagon report (link to pdf).All I'm going to say is, every time the Pentagon releases a repo

For all you fans of C.S. Lewis' classic book The Screwtape Letters, here's a follow-up: an enterprising blogger has written a new letter from Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood, advising him on blogging!Lewis, I think, would have been a little bemused,

The sad news is all over the Star Trek fan base: James Doohan, who played Scotty, has died at the age of 85.JJCJ (finally back to blogging) has a nice tribute.More (and more to come) from the official Star Trek website.