Rupert Murdoch and the WSJ

It seems to be a done deal--Murdoch now controls the Wall Street Journal. It's a little like gay marriage--he didn't really need to do it, he already had it all, there was no social pressure, but he wanted acceptance. At least that's what I concluded after reading the funeral draped pages of today's edition. If Dennis K. Berman has a job in the new organization, I'd be surprised. You see, only the editorial pages are conservative and pro-business. The articles were every bit as liberal as the New York Times. Every evil in the world can be blamed on capitalism, did you know that? And recent evil is all Bush's fault. Journalism schools are turning out people, both for newspapers and journals, who see their role not to research, report, sift and sort, but to change their readers' beliefs and attitudes. To their own, of course. I see it in the medical journals, the library journals, teachers' journals and the architectural journals, too. According the Berman article (A1), Murdoch

orchestrated a deal for the forces of capitalism

plotted his moves

found a willing dance partner in a CEO

has perpetrated a "dark day in journalism"

has showed a thick skin secure in his belief that his critics are antibuiness elitists (change that to "antimedia" and you'd describe most reporters)

is interfering and politicizing journalism (but that's the journalists' role, not the owner)

has views in accord with the editorial pages (oh my gosh!)

will use his influence to advance his political interests (pot to kettle, etc.)

is irresponsible.

Actually, I don't expect to see much change. Although I suspect some writers will leave anyway. They'll write books, or apply for work with liberal think tanks.

The workers respond: "As for the Journal news coverage, the critics insult the standards and culture of our reporters and editors. They aren't potted plants who will abandon the habits of a lifetime because someone else owns Dow Jones. Yes, we all must adapt to the new ways in which readers want to receive business and political news. But to claim that the Journal will cease being a credible source of such news is to malign the integrity of 700 career professionals."

Assurances from the publisher

Happy Anniversary

"Rush Limbaugh launched his phenomenally successful radio broadcast into national syndication on August 1, 1988, with 56 radio stations. Seventeen years later it is heard on nearly 600 stations by 20 million people each week and is the highest rated national radio talk show in America." Read. Wouldn't that be 19 years? Maybe it's an old page. WJR says 645 stations.

4015

Treadmills in coffee shops?

According to the Cheerful Oncologist, recent research on nude mice shows that caffeine and exercise offer some protection from sun exposure. His take on this interesting story here.

The last day of July

This is a rerun from July 31, 2004. Our friend Jane mentioned 3 years ago did buy a cottage.

-----------------

Lakeside streets and cottages could tell you a thousand love stories--the community is over 130 years old. The vacationers seeking a beautiful place to worship, learn and have fun first arrived by steamship (ended in 1939), and rail (ended in 1930) and interurban (ended in 1939). Bridges and high ways brought changes that come with automobiles, but they didn't change why people come here. Our neighbors (in Columbus) stopped by the cottage yesterday returning from upper Michigan. They had never been here. "We've been here an hour and a half," Jane said, "and I want to buy a place."

And there are other love stories--this poem was inspired by a young couple I saw under the street light last summer on the last day of July. This one, however, is about a summer love story from the 1940s.

It was too late for summer love,
They cried that day and said good-bye.
Cicada announced at sunset
It was the last day of July.

As August waited at the door
The sun slipped down more quickly now.
They strolled along the Lakeside dock
and to each other made this vow.

"We'll dance and swim and sing once more
when next July we'll meet again
with kisses sweet in pale moonlight
on the corner of Third and Lynn."

He shipped out for the Philippines;
She left for school at OSU.
During July in years to come
They both recalled that lovely view.

The lovers young did not return
to stroll the lakefront side by side,
'til this year each saw the other
with great grandchildren at Lakeside.

It was too late for summer love,
After hello they said good-bye
with a kiss for their own sunset--
It was the last day of July.

4013

Practicing with the camera

I'm practicing with the new camera, and have uninstalled the Easy Share software since it had all sorts of "stuff" I didn't need and didn't seem to let me use what I was used to. So this is the cat, using the zoom, using the laptop all reinstalled, without the software for the camera, but I still have to figure out how to make a smaller file. The instructions, which are really poor, are in four languages. Hope there's more on the web.

4012

A pricey week at home in Columbus

Yesterday when I was at Meijer's buying groceries I stopped at the camera counter and bought a Canon Selphy CP720. I'd never even considered buying a printer for photos, but when my niece Cindy was here last week she showed me some views on her digital camera and asked which I'd like to have (of the family when she visited in Illinois). She pulled out a small, padded 6-pack cooler, and inside was a little 8 x 6 printer and she also had room for her camera and all the cords and instruction books in it (plus a soft drink on top). She said it was a lot handier than trying to remember later what people wanted. It probably isn't as cheap (about $.28 a print) as taking it to Wal-Mart or CVS, but for traveling as they had been doing for a month, it worked well. Hers was an early model with a docking station. The one I bought just needs to have the photo card inserted and you can select from the viewer on the top. The clerk at Meijer's was very helpful and also explained the Kodak Easy Share in detail, but they didn't have any.
Then this morning the wallet started to leak again around 8 a.m. at Kohl's with the 15% senior discount. I bought a pair of KEDS that I think will work for our trip to Ireland--I really wanted the taupe color but there were none in my size. I took my walk in them today to start breaking them in.
Then I went to Staples to pick up my laptop which I had left for a tune up and a software re-install. It had failed 2 weeks ago when I was at Lakeside (big blog withdrawal). The re-install removes all the files I had, but they were primarily photos and I think I'd captured most on disk. I had a nice comforting chat with Mike the tech; he told me which stuff was outdated and what he replaced it with and it did all the software security updates which I hadn't bothered with. I had a $29 Staples reward check, and $6.00 for returning ink cartridges, so my total with tax was only $26.43. I haven't turned it on yet. Fingers are crossed for a happy ending and more blogging at Lakeside.

I stopped at the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop and bought 7 china soup bowls that almost match my good china. I'd waited months for them to break up the set (didn't want the whole thing, only the bowls), and finally got them for $4 a piece. They are not the fine quality of my Syracuse china (now discontinued), but if I turn down the lights, who will know? Although I am in trouble if I invite 6 for dinner. If I tried to buy replacement china to match my set now, I think I'd pay about $70 per soup bowl, if I could find them (Countess pattern).
The cheap china bowl with the expensive china plate. Pretty good match.

Then it was back to Staples to look for the Easy Share digital camera I couldn't get at Meijer's. I had a $30 coupon for a $150 purchase. The camera was $129, a 2 gig card about $19, and a box of paper for my new little printer brought the price tag up. But as it turned out, they were also out of the Easy Share. The clerk called the Hilliard store (didn't know there was one), so I went there for my next purchase.When I got home I mentioned to my husband that gasoline was $2.51 across the river, but within the hour when he went back, it had gone up to $2.69. Now I have a couch full of boxes, equipment, instructions, software, paper and a shoe box.

4011

New photos

on the reunion blog (Mt. Morris High School, class of 1957). By clicking on the July archive, you can see most of them. The scrapbook history of the class reunions over the years kept by a classmember is going to be put in the town library for awhile, according to the newspaper. She did a wonderful job.

The Lakeside Plein Air Paintout and Show

Because my computer was down in the middle of the month, I couldn't tell you about the Lakeside Plein Air Paintout and Art Show, July 13-15. It was great fun watching these artists work. And when they displayed their art on Sunday (you could buy a wet, fresh painting), it was during the wooden boat show. I wouldn't have thought to combine the two, but the boats were great subjects, and didn't move, and people who came to see one show also enjoyed the other. You can see the grass was a bit dry, but there have been some nice greening rains since then. From this amateur's eye, it looked like a smallish masonite board, sanded and primed offered the artist the best rigidity and hope for withstanding the changes in the weather. Although I did see one or two watercolorists, most artists were using oil, or acrylic with an extender which kept it from drying too fast. Watercolor dries quickly even in the studio, and outside, well, in a blink, so you'd better have great control.

4009

Have your interests changed over the years?

It's interesting to look back and see how our interests change over the years. It's really a fluke that my husband was willing to go 3 days last week without my good cooking and company at the lake house just so he could sail! And with other old guys who have been sailing most of their adult lives, too! In the fall of 2004 I won sailing lessons by entering my sugar-free apple pie in a fall festival at Lakeside. I had no interest in getting wet, so my husband decided to use the $65 award for lessons in summer 2005. It turns out he loves sailing and is good at it, although he had never shown any interest before. In a few weeks he is going to take the advanced course (same instructor).


I'd never heard of blogging until the fall of 2003, and now I have eleven blogs, and am totally out of control. But that's not such a big stretch. I'd always written essays and long letters to my family and friends, and in the 90s began writing fiction and poetry. Research and publication were a requirement for my job at Ohio State University Libraries. So blogging is just a different way to publish and chat without the pressure of a deadline or peer review. However, blogging was a bit of a fluke also in that I started because I didn't like the harassment on the Usenet groups.

My husband had been an exercise instructor at the downtown YMCA for many years when he was a partner in Feinknopf, Macioce and Schappa. When he became a sole practitioner with a home office, he joined an aerobics class at UALC, our church--the only guy. The women were mostly young moms, and they invited him to become a Bible School teacher which he did. He taught VBS for 13 years and found out that he loved teaching children. And now he leads the women's aerobics class, too.

For about 20 years I was totally consumed with my children's lives--feeding, teaching, health, values, friends, schooling, teen angst, various crises, and finally the dreaded empty nest when I had to find another focus. Then from 1986 it was my reconnection with a career, promotion and tenure, conferences, organizations, publication, etc.


Thirty years ago I would have never dreamed that topics like retirement, 401-k plans, osteoporosis, nutrition or exercise could become so interesting. My reading tastes have changed completely--in fact, on Thursday I think I'll tell you 13 things about JAMA.

There were other life changes too--moving from being a humanist liberal/Democrat to a conservative Christian/Democrat to a Christian/conservative, for instance. Spiritual and social changes really rearrange your activities and friendships. Some things never changed--I never believed in evolution even though I was taught nothing else from first grade through graduate school and could fake it in science and biology classes, and I've never believed abortion was a just solution for either mother or child. Unlike many conservatives, I think the culture's gone too far to outlaw either one regardless of incredulity or cruelty to the unborn. Those two issues are very political, yet I've not swerved on them from liberal to conservative.

As a liberal I would work for social issues because I believed I could change other people's behavior and morals and make a better society. Liberals have an incredible smugness about their own power. (Living with teen-agers changed that closely held belief.) As a conservative, I no longer believe that, but am often involved in the same activities just because it is the right and Christian thing to do. Matthew 25 commands followers of Jesus to visit the sick and imprisoned and to feed and clothe the poor, not to change human society, but because those people are Jesus in the flesh.

"And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?" And the King will answer and say to them [on his right], "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me." And He will also say to those on His left, "Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me." (NASB)

As a liberal I had no hope or good news to offer anyone except maybe training for a job, or a Sunday visit during a prison term, or holding their hand as they died. Really temporal, cultural stuff. Not much in the scope of things is it? Not that conservative Christians are always politically conservative (I wasn't for a long time), or even that they do what Jesus explicitly commanded. However, study after study have shown that a solid belief in the work of Jesus on the cross on our behalf creates a much more generous and open spirit, than a socialist or humanist mentality, which seems to create more turmoil, dissension and a stingy spirit. But even if the research and polls didn't say that, he will know a sheep from a goat (Matt. 25:32-33), and I want to be sure that the good news comes first.

4008

Comments on the News

Gonzales--would you be able to reconstruct without any errors anything you said or did a year ago, last week, this morning? The only good thing about the Democrats' witch hunt into executive privilege territory is that it keeps them from doing what their party faithfuls elected them to do.

Michael Vick--before his fighting dog problems, I'd never heard of him. If he's done even a fraction of what he's accused of, he should be ashamed (although people who do this have no shame). However, thousands of dogs are killed each year because their owners abandoned them or didn't train them and they became problems. Professional athletes are frequently in the news for beating up women, and you don't hear nearly the outcry as you do about this. T-shirt manufacturers don't pull the product. I won't link to any dog fight photos, but it's a terribly cruel sport for which millions cheer and gamble. Hmmm. Sounds a bit like football, doesn't it?

Nifong--He's apparently apologized, now let's see if the Duke faculty can display a bit of class and do the same--both the 88 and the others who just stood by. I'd fire the bunch, but I'm sure they are hiding behind some sort of legal protection, something they weren't willing to offer the lacrosse athletes of their school. I sure wouldn't send my kid to Duke if these clowns are any example of their faculty.

BET--I read about BET's new reality show displaying outrageous, ill mannered behavior by blacks. Now that's a help, isn't it? If people are idiots, what makes the producers think they'll shame them into some manners? I'm betting some of the investors in this travesty are after the green, regardless of their color, and they won't all be black. It's the only color that matters in the entertainment world.

Ward Churchill--Three investigative panels of the University of Colorado found phony baloney Ward Churchill rewrote history to fit his personal and political views and refused to take responsibility for his academic misconduct. So of course, he is suing. Between Duke's 88 and Colorado's Churchill, it's not a good year for academic administrations. Colorado should have booted him much earlier just on the strength of his smarmy lies that he was a native American. Time for some cage cleaning.

4007

An immigrant's story

This morning on a local call-in radio show (Bob Connors, 610 am) I heard a Columbus immigrant counter a caller who had apparently called before I tuned in saying something negative about the Somalis. This immigrant caller I heard was Somali and had lived in the U.S. about 20 years, 10 in Columbus. His English was accented but grammatically perfect. And here's the general points he made.

All Somalis who come to the US are legal immigrants who comply with all the government regulations. It cost him about $3,000 to bring his wife later, of which about $1,500 is legal fees for an attorney to make sure everything is done correctly. There are about 25-30,000 Somalis in the Columbus area, although he admitted to not knowing the exact number because no one tracks them. There are about 200,000 in the Minneapolis-St.Paul area, and a large group in Maine. He said Somalis succeed where others here much longer--hundreds of years (I think this was a reference to African-Americans)--do not because they "build their house." They help each other and establish small businesses--groceries, gift shops, bakeries, restaurants, clothing stores, etc., gradually moving up the socio-economic ladder. There is even a small shopping center in Columbus that has all Somali businesses.

We are not helping illegals become established by offering amnesty and encouraging them to continually break the law. It is possible to do it right, as this man, now a citizen, demonstrated.

4006

The stuff of urban legends

I know a young, beautiful woman--early 30s I think--who married the wrong man when she was very young. A sweet baby and nasty divorce followed. She lacked a college degree or a trade so she began waitressing in an upscale restaurant and did well. There she met a businessman who noticed her people-skills and who offered her a job in marketing for a small TV station. She took the job, and again did very well--she used the same engaging personality and attention to her customers that she used at the restaurant. Recently she was offered a position in a larger market and took the plunge. The offer? $133,000 a year.

Now, I heard this story from her dad, and let's say he exaggerates a bit, because I think she inheritied his charm and sales skills. Even if you shaved the salary some, it's still a pretty good story, don't you think?

4005

Naturally aged skin

That'd be mine. Yes, I stayed out of the sun--haven't had a real sun tan since I was 19 (although skin damage starts very young), and I'm not a smoker. But I am very fair. Sun, cigarettes and pale skin are the big three for wrinkles. So can this be reversed? Yes, according to a new study in Archives of Dermatology, 2007; 143:606-612.

The study was done on 36 residents of nursing homes with an average age of 87 using topical 0.4% retinol lotion, 3 times a week for 24 weeks on the arms.

"Conclusions: Topical retinol improves fine wrinkles associated with natural aging. Significant induction of glycosaminoglycan, which is known to retain substantial water, and increased collagen production are most likely responsible for wrinkle effacement. With great skin matrix synthesis, retinol-treated aged skin is more likely to withstand skin injury and ulcer formation along with improved appearance."

Or you can put on 20 lbs. and fill out your own wrinkles (that's not in the article, but is from personal experience).

WebMD summary
ScienceDaily summary

4004

What you do when young and eager on a field trip

Kathryn has a great story about a botany trip she made in college when she dreamed of being a botanist. She goes on to tell about a find of an extinct animal reported in the news, but I thought the first part, where she promises us some stories about how her views have changed is interesting. It's also a good example of how college students can get a bit manipulated by their professors.

4003

What happened in Ohio in 1963?

There's something very odd about Ohio's adoption laws. If a person was adopted before January 1, 1964, their files/records are open (to the adopted person) with two pieces of ID and $20. If they were adopted between January 1, 1964 and September 18, 1996, their records are sealed and you'd better be ready to move heaven and earth to find out who you are (were).

An adoptive person older than 21 and who was adopted between Jan. 1, 1964 through Sept. 18, 1996 can petition the court that granted the adoption to request Vital Statistics to search for releases received from the biological parent(s). If a release is found, a notice is given to the court to release the adoption record.

Does this seem odd to you? Ohio Department of Health

Frankly, I'm not a huge fan of the so-called open adoptions--B-mom picking out advantaged couples from essays and interviews, exchanging photos, A-mom inviting B-mom to the birthday parties, etc. Most of the cases I know of the interest in exchanging information drops off on both sides after a few years. It's the developing child I think about. What activist group or social worker ever decided it would be easier emotionally to know your B-parents knew where you were, or had your photo from your toddler years, but still went on with their lives without you? Who decided there would be less guilt and depression by parents who surrendered a child just because they chose the adoptive parents?

That said, an 18 year old should have complete and open access to all the documents, the originals and the doctored. S/he is no longer a baby who needs privacy and protection, but an adult who should have the same civil rights as the rest of us.

4002

Can you take a picture for us?

Sure, they said . . . and then they posed.



We don't know their names, but they are friendly neighbors, and then they took our photo.



My husband has cleaned out the basement--says all the dead spiders are gone (this will make my SIL happy who will be there next week and is not fond of them). Very few houses in Lakeside have basements--and that's definitely one of the negatives--spiders. He's had some glorious days of sailing--even went to East Harbor with S.O.S. (Society of Old Salts). He says the programming on Wednesday and Thursday was terrific. Our friends Dave (also an architect) and Pam from UALC came up for a few days and they got together. This was their first visit to lakeside. A print of one of my husband's watercolors of the miniature golf course was presented, matted and framed, to a donor at the program Wednesday evening. This was a big surprise and thrill.

4001

Goldfish and wine

Our dinner guests, my niece and her family from Florida, went to Cincinnati first for a Reds game, then stopped to see the Pete Rose display and the museum, then got caught in a traffic tie up. So I'm alone, munching goldfish crackers (Pepperidge Farm) and sipping Merlot. Usually, I don't allow crackers in the house--for the obvious reasons--I scarf them down. We're having pork roast, gravy, baked mashed potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, sliced garden tomatoes (thanks to my daughter's neighbors), cukes and peppers sliced, and lemon fluff pie with cherry topping. I think I've eaten half of the goldfish crackers.

4000

Everybody talkin' 'bout peace ain't passin' it

Sunday I had the opportunity to hear a sermon by Tony Campolo, professor emeritus of Sociology at Eastern University and an ordained minister in the American Baptist Church, at Lakeside Sunday service at Hoover Auditorium (I'd already attended worship on the lakefront). Regardless of what you think of his theology or the larger umbrella of "the emergent church" you'll never hear a more entertaining Christian. He even jokes about being a bald guy with a son named Bart and a daughter named Lisa. He's a member of a predominantly African American congregation, and can preach it with patois better than anyone I know. If you were to hear it on a recording, you'd never guess he's an Italian American.


I always listen carefully for the gospel--not the social, feel-good, do-gooder peace and justice gospel, but the real Jesus-died-on-the-cross-for-your-sins, because without that you're just kiddin' around, giving people false hope that they can get into the kingdom with good works. And he did mention it--at the end of the sermon. If you're in a liturgical church that sings traditional hymns and has a lesson from the NT and OT, you can fill in what the preacher misses. But why should you need to?

Thirty some years ago I had the impression that Prof. Campolo and I were on the same page. Of course, I'd been a works-Christian most of my life before 1974, so maybe it was just that with the fresh blush and bloom of the Gospel, I didn't notice that some people who called themselves Evangelicals had become bored with the Good News of Jesus and wanted to "move on." Or maybe he came to the conclusion that there were no unbelievers in the pew. Wrong. If the folks aren't saved, Tony, there's not much point to a stunning sermon about the spirit.

Thursday Thirteen--13 Words for sheep

Feminist librarians say naming (cataloging and classification) is a form of power. Yawn. Librarians always say that about information, i.e., knowledge is control, power, etc. That's why they have such fabulous salaries and get government appointments. Ha. But other professions besides librarians and government bureaucrats also name by gender, role, age, economic value, hierarchy, etc., too. Like sheep farmers. One time I saw a list of 50+ English words for sheep (most of New Zealand and Australian origin where sheep are essential to the economy), only a few of which I remember. Here's a few I found on the Internet . . . plus a poem. Just because I'm a formerly powerful librarian.

Photo by JD Lasica
1) buck - uncastrated male sheep
2) dam - sheep mother
3) ewe - female sheep of breeding age

Two tooth ewes (not pregnant)

4) ram - entire male animal that has reached sexual maturity at around six months
5) wether - male sheep castrated at an early age before secondary sexual characters have developed. A bellwether is a sheep with a bell leading the flock (also called a mob).
6) hogg - a sheep up to the age of one year; one yet to be sheared
7) hoggett - castrated male sheep usually 10 to 14 months old.
8) lamb - young sheep still with its dam (mother) or up to five months of age. Qualified as

ewe lamb or
ram lamb or
Cade lamb - regional term for an orphan lamb

9) shearling - regional term for sheep up to first shearing
10) Gimmer - regional term for a young ewe that has not yet born a lamb.
11) Tegs - regional term for fat lamb in second season
12) Theaves - another regional term for a young ewe up to first lambing.
13) Tups or tips - male sheep, usually an entire breeding male ram
-----------------
My sheep poem
by Norma

Buck, dam,
Ewe, lamb,
Wether, hogg,
Hoggett, ram--

Yearling,
Gimmer,
tups, tegs, tips,
Theaves, shearling--

Waltz Matilda, waltz!*
----------------------
*Waltzing Matilda is Australia's unofficial anthem. The spell check says it has never heard of any of these words.

3998

Shocked and awed researchers

One of these didn't shock me, but several did.

74% of the 3% who suffer from "restless leg syndrome" seem to have evidence of a gene link according to recent articles in the NEJM and Nature. And naturally, someone's looking for or promoting a drug for it. Have you ever wished they'd just stuff that human genetic code back into the family's closet of skeletons?





The mega-veggies diet low in fat didn't give breast cancer survivors long term protection anymore than the 5 servings a day diet with average fat of the control group. Even though both groups also decreased caloric intake over time, both had small increases in weight. Seems some physical activity is needed. JAMA, July 18, 2007, (v. 298, no.3)




If government health care is so great (according to Democrat candidates on the campaign trail), isn't it odd that doctors are dropping their Medicaid patients? Ever wonder why Obama and Miz Clinton want to Fema-tize health care? Maybe they don't like black people and poor people?



Soda pop, diet or regular, seems to be adding to the metabolic syndrome problem--that's high blood pressure, high glucose levels, pre-diabetic, etc. Now this is just anecdotal and purely my own observation, but I've never seen a person of normal BMI who drank a lot of or was panicked without soda pop. I think Americans drink about 50 gallons of soda a year, Canadians about 30 and Brits about 22. So you see, someone is getting my share since I drink maybe 3-4 cans a year. People can be addicted to the carbonation, the sugar, the sugar substitute or the caffeine, or a combination of two or three.