Women's College Wrestling Association national championships

Roller derby tryouts

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When I heard about France's proposed band on the burqa, and especially when I heard about how few people it would affect, I immediately suspected French politicians of xenophobia. This Economist article casts the French objection to the burqa in an interesting light.

The thesis of the article is that, as a people who suffered under the authoritarian clericalism of the Catholic church and struggled against it, they object to authoritarian clericalism of all sorts. In their view it's not so much a ban as it is a liberation.

I still suspect that xenophobia is still driving this legislation to some extent, but after reading the piece I've noticed more and more comments that dwell on liberating people.

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Seeing this article in Slate reminded me of the time that I came up with the funniest yoga joke ever while in the pigeon pose...

Q: What does a cannibal call pigeon pose?

A: Squab pose.

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Carrie Brownstein has a blog at NPR where she writes about things like humiliating karaoke experiences. She's also written some stuff for Slate.

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"Hey! You know that normal thing you do? Well, there are some people who don't do it!"

Recent hard-hitting examples:

People who don't lock the doors to their home/apartment.

People who choose not to heat their homes.

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...we decided to have one too.

What's weird is this kid can't be president under the Constitution, with that whole natural born citizen thing, but also can't be a Chinese citizen under the rules here. Rootless!

Hellx, Dr. No already vetoed Aqib Talib Tejada.

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as somebody who's generally sympathetic towards democrats, i have to say i also enjoy the regular nervous breakdowns that the party goes through. i love the fact that the democratic party is able to get their shit together for like 36 minutes and then everything falls apart. of course, it really hasn't fallen apart, but democrats always think it has. i think they're still shell-shocked by 1994.

sullivan/chait on whole deal...

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Sure, KU basketball has a pretty good video intro, but can it compete with an intro video that features a giant polar bear sinking an icebreaker with a laser hockey stick, then climbing into a plane and destroying the earth? No.

More here.

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It's that time of year again. Should you happen to find yourself in West Virginia the first week of February, you should definitely find your way to our place for the annual GH festivities on Feb. 5.

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Yeah, the treadmill guys. Cute videos, but the music really never worked for me.

I'm giving 'em a second look after hearing and seeing two new videos.

WTF:

OK Go - WTF? from OK Go on Vimeo.

This Too Shall Pass:

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass from OK Go on Vimeo.

Something about the second song really works for me -- I think it's the marching band. Old Tom's influence? You can download that version of the song free o' charge at the Ok Go website.

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I have no idea what to think about jason zinoman at the NYT as a theater critic. he's now reviewed two shows that i've had tickets to before the show.

one was americana kamikaze that i got tickets to because i thought it would be entertaining. zinoman's review of "americana kamikaze", though, ratcheted my anticipation up and i didn't enjoy it as much as i think i would have without the glowing review.

so, when i saw his good review of l'effet de serge, i thought, "shit...once again he's ramping up my expectations."

i may have enjoyed americana kamikaze better without a good review in the NYT, but i loved 'effet de serge even with a good review. if phillipe quesne comes to town, check him out.

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The Morning News has announced the books and judges for the 2010 Tournament of Books.

One of the judges: Andrew W.K.

The number of books on the list that I've read so far: one, Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood.

This is my favorite time of year...

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The NYT has an article about Harry Reid calling Obama a light-skinned black who speaks well during the presidential campaign. I found the choice for the accompanying photograph extremely interesting because Obama's skin color appears darker than normal.

Here's the NYT photo:

Here's the official White House photo of Obama:

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Do you miss the Detroit Auto Show, Mr. Guapo?

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An interactive map of the Netflix queues in 12 metropolitan areas.

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Last week I was suffering from my annual post-Africa trip cold and missed a couple days of work. One morning I was lying in bed, reading and listening to the Brian Lehrer show (something that I love, but only listen to when I'm sick or on holidays) when he made a comment about Harold Ford. I was like, "Harold Ford, wut? Was he just talking about the Harold Ford from Tennessee?"

Today's NYT has cleared up my confusion. The best line from the article: "Mr. Ford is quickly gaining attention and showing moxie where other challengers had not..."

The word moxie began life as the name of a late nineteenth century nerve tonic that, like a less popular Coca-Cola, is still available in soda form.

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Some friends say a book of that title -- illustrations below -- makes them think of me. Whatever are they talking about?

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Lady Gaga has become not only the face of Polaroid, but also its creative director. I think this is a brilliant move since I can't think of anybody who has marketed herself better than Stefani Germanotta.

Oh...and here's an anthropologist talking about the the evolution of the human capacity to kill at a distance.

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it is a pretty cool failed backyard wrestling move. And it could be from Indiana.

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