03 February 2004

Turning Around Global Warming An article on the BBC website today resonates with the chapter I read this morning in Bill Bryson's interesting book "A Short History of Nearly Everything" which is making a big lump on my bedside table at the moment. It seems that our world has mechanisms to adjust to adverse conditions; it just takes an awful long time to do it, and the meanwhile species get extinct. That is a them of our Bill's book - how very tenuous our existence is on this planet.  We should all be grateful for, and make the most of the life we have been given, because at any moment an asteroid could come crashing in or Yellowstone blows, each of which would completely obliterate "life as we know it" in a few minutes at most.   9:17:13 PM    comment []

HIV/AIDS in South Africa This widely-discussed topic shows up in the unlikely pages of Wired News.  Essentially it is a discussion of how accurate the statistical models are.  Author Rian Malan is quoted, and I have read elsewhere that he has been muddying the waters somewhat, not sure quite what his statistical qualifications are.  I guess I should read the referenced article. Talking about Rian Malan, he showed up in the (Jhb) Sunday Times last week, talking about how living in Cape Town (he is an enthusiast!), and how that has allowed him to become reconciled to SA's not-so-new democracy.  Again, not so sure what that says about Rian; maybe the income flow from "My Traitor's Heart", a topical and courageous book at the time, has dried up, and he needs to lift his profile again. 8:30:34 PM    comment []

Janet Jackson Furore The SuperBowl is not broadcast in Greece, and even if so at an inhospitable hour so I didn't even watch.  By all accounts a thrilling encounter, Tom Brady an authentic American hero, and the kicker nervelessly doing a Jonny Wilkinson to snatch victory on the bell.  However, all else is overshadowed by one minor incident during the halftime entertainment.  Shame and scandal all round;  a "wardrobe mishap" says co-star Justin Timberlake, although all indications are that it was carefully planned.  The Drudge Report has the scoop, including pictures of the offending breast, and the BBC has a photo report. Wow!  All a little over the top to any European, accustomed as we are to view the female breast in all its infinite and wonderful variety on the beach all summer long.  And I must say, the average Pommy sunbather has nicer boobs than Ms Jackson.  As the NYT reviewer (female) triumphantly put it: "Perhaps the one moment of honesty in that coldly choreographed tableau was when the cup came off and out tumbled what looked like a normal middle-aged woman's breast instead of an idealized Playboy bunny implant." Another commenter said: "OH MY GOD!! Michael got a BOOB JOB!!!" More valid comments here. 1:33:05 PM    comment []