Quotation of the Day

A conversational bit I heard today and simply had to post.

- You know I look at my family and I seriously wonder: where did I pick up my particular genetic combo?
- Hm. That is the question that Aristotle would still be wrestling with.

Let the ontological discussion start.

Shopping With Wes Anderson and Jason Schwartzman Go Shopping

If you enjoy both Wes Anderson and Jason Schwartzman, this clip might be of interest.

Women Take Too Long to Get Ready?

The second biggest pet peeve of mine is being late for any/everything. But some people, it seems like, do need more time to get ready than others. More patience is required by those who get to 'see and be seen' in a shorter amount of time. Hence this article on the Telegraph was bound to be featured here as well.
A bit says:
"Women spend 3,276 hours getting ready
Women spend 136 days of their lives getting ready for a night out - enough time for an astronaut to fly to the moon and back 22 times."
Any strong feelings on the matter?

Queen's Brian May Finishes His Dissertation: PhD in Astronomy

Congrats to rocker and physicist Brian May of the band Queen for completing his dissertation and receiving his PhD in Astronomy. As I was perusing an academic journal just now, I came across this bit of news and, of course, I had to post this. Neophilologus, the journal, posts:
"Guitarist for band Queen, completes his PhD thesis.
Brian May, the guitarist and founding member of the legendary rock band Queen, earned his PhD in astronomy last year from Imperial College London. His PhD thesis has just been co-published by Springer and Canopus Publishing Ltd."
Tip of the hat to Brian May for finishing a dissertation. Getting a PhD is no walk in the park. As, I'm sure, performing "We Will Rock You" to sold out stadiums would be either....
graph per springer

Why Do Women Pay More for a Haircut?

My stylist is truly democratic. And just how can I make such an observation about her? Well, for starters, she charges the same amount to both men and women for a haircut. Whether she's cutting an inch off of my hair, or five inches off of my male folks, she unwaveringly abides by her cutting principles. A haircut is a haircut and the price is the same for all. Liberty, justice, and equality of clipping charges to all.
Hence, when doing my quotidian newspaper reading this morning, I was a tad flummoxed upon reading this. A bit says:
"Trying to keep your hairstyle in line with Agyness Deyn's latest androgynous do can be expensive for a girl. A monthly trim at a unisex salon costs around £40. But, if you're a man, you'll pay up to half that for the same haircut.

For decades, it's been standard practice for hairdressers to charge women more for haircuts, based on the idea that women have longer hair and therefore their cuts take longer and require more expertise. No allowance has been made for the increasing popularity of short hair on women, particularly with the current trend for boyish crops, like mine. Indeed, when I went for my monthly trim last week, I found that the price had gone up £5 to £45, while the price of men's cuts had risen only £2 to £28. I was so insensed, I decided to seek legal advice.

"Recent amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act in April have strengthened the protection from sex discrimination, not just at work, but also in the wider world, from businesses who discriminate against individuals in the goods and services they offer," says Samantha Mangwana at Russell Jones & Walker. "Where a man and woman have the same haircut, and the same skills are required, the salon is acting unlawfully to charge them different prices. There does not appear to be any justification for the cost difference," she says."
What say ye?
graph per guardian.co

Library Borrowing and Time

From MR.
Borrow books from libraries?
Return them always on time?
Consider the following:
" "Libraries are facing competition from television, magazines, the internet, e-books, yet they have this archaic and mad idea of charging people money for being slightly late," said library consultant Frances Hendrix - a loud voice in the debate which has been taking place on an online forum for librarians. "It's all so negative, unprofessional and unbusinesslike; like any business, libraries need not to alienate their customers." Liz Dubber, director of programmes at reading charity The Reading Agency, agreed. "My personal view [is that] they're past their sell-by date because they do sustain a very old-fashioned image of libraries which is out of sync with today's modern library environment and the image libraries are trying to project - tolerant, responsive, flexible, stimulating," she said.

.....
One librarian suggested adopting the ancient practice of some monasteries, in which monks who offended in the handling of books were publicly cursed. Another pointed to Soviet Russia, where they said that offenders' names were published in newspapers to shame them into returning their books. In New Zealand town Palmerston North next week, library users returning late books are being challenged to beat librarians on Guitar Hero to have their fines waived."

Jon Stewart: Most Trusted TV Man?

Those of you who watch The Daily Show might enjoy this. A bit from the article features Stephen Colbert's comments, among other things.
" “Jon’s ability to consume and process information is invaluable,” said Mr. Colbert. He added that Mr. Stewart is “such a clear thinker” that he’s able to take “all these data points of spin and transparent falsehoods dished out in the form of political discourse” and “fish from that what is the true meaning, what are red herrings, false leads,” even as he performs the ambidextrous feat of “making jokes about it” at the same time.

“We often discuss satire — the sort of thing he does and to a certain extent I do — as distillery,” Mr. Colbert continued. “You have an enormous amount of material, and you have to distill it to a syrup by the end of the day. So much of it is a hewing process, chipping away at things that aren’t the point or aren’t the story or aren’t the intention. Really it’s that last couple of drops you’re distilling that makes all the difference. It isn’t that hard to get a ton of corn into a gallon of sour mash, but to get that gallon of sour mash down to that one shot of pure whiskey takes patience” as well as “discipline and focus.”"
graph per ny times

Bob Dylan Film: Previous Post

I was asked about the feature film I'm Not There today. Hence, here's a previous post on it.

Ghandi's Daughter Says 'no' to the Sari

This from today.
"She is a member of that most famous of Indian families, the Gandhis, but Priyanka Gandhi Vadra stands accused of the most un-Indian of fashion crimes - ditching the sari in favour of western clothes.

The elegant daughter of ruling Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi has caused a stir in Delhi by turning up for a crucial parliamentary session in a tight-fitting white blouse and smart black trousers, topped with a wide belt."
What could be said about her 'textile' text?
graph per guardian.co.uk

Assorted Links: Travel

I'm a fan of both Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul so the following features were of interest.

Things Minneapolis-St.Paul
Things Denver
graph per ny times