Active voice, passive voice, weasel voice
The Economist's Johnson column last week (which I just got around to reading tonight) took on verb conjugations in journalism:On May 14th, as Palestinians massed at the Gaza Strip’s border, Israeli...
View ArticleDrunken fumbling becomes a Constitutional case
A student at the University of Cincinnati has filed a fascinating lawsuit against the school for discrimination in its enforcement of sexual misconduct:Is it possible for two people to simultaneously...
View ArticleParker update
We just got back from the vet. The x-rays show that Parker's leg is almost completely healed, so he's finally cleared to go back to his play group. He has no idea about this right now but tomorrow...
View ArticleLunchtime reading
Stuff that landed in my inbox today:Illinois has secured a $132 m grant to fix one of the worst rail bottlenecks in the state.Crain's Greg Hinz sort-of compliments Illinois governor Bruce Rauner for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ribfest 2018
Ah, Ribfest. The bane of my diet.This year I went back to a couple of old favorites and tried a couple of new ones:Chicago BBQ: Smoky, a little tug off the bone, tangy sauce. 3½ stars.Mrs. Murphy's...
View ArticleNew Chicago gang map released
The Associated Press has obtained the latest edition of the Chicago Crime Commission's "Gang Book." It shows the turfs claimed by 59 gangs, including many small areas formed as groups split off from...
View ArticleI am shocked—shocked!—by this event
New York State has sued the Donald J. Trump Foundation for—wait for it—self-dealing and general corruption:The lawsuit, which seeks to dissolve the foundation and bar President Trump and three of his...
View ArticleWomen's voices have changed
That's the conclusion of a researcher at the University of South Australia:Cecilia Pemberton at the University of South Australia studied the voices of two groups of Australian women aged 18–25 years....
View ArticleStates can charge sales tax on Internet purchases now
The Supreme Court handed down its ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. this morning:Brick-and-mortar businesses have long complained that they are disadvantaged by having to charge sales taxes while...
View ArticleLate afternoon reading
Meetings and testing all day have put these on my list for reading tomorrow:The Atlantic's Carl Zimmer on epigenetics.New Republic's David Dayen saying AT&T has proved its critics right in only a...
View ArticleBusy weekend; lunchtime reading
This past weekend included the Chicago Gay Pride Parade and helping a friend prepare for hosing a brunch beforehand. Blogging fell a bit on the priority list.Meanwhile, here are some of the things I'm...
View ArticleIt's grim, but we've been here before
Josh Marshall says that, despite what will probably come from a hard-right Supreme Court over the next few years, this isn't the end of the left:Elections have consequences. Often they are profound...
View ArticleHey, there's my old flint arrowhead!
Amsterdam is building a new subway line directly beneath the Amstel River, so they drained it, as one does. Then they let a team of archaeologists go wild:The excavations in the Amstel yielded a deluge...
View ArticleWhy do we celebrate the 4th?
Writing for NBC News, UT law professor Steve Vladeck reflects on how we celebrate today, and not Constitution Day, as the birthday of our nation:As Lincoln would have it, Union soldiers weren’t...
View ArticleMultiple heat records set this week worldwide
Large areas of the planet are experiencing record heat this week, as predicted by the anthropogenic climate change hypothesis:No single record, in isolation, can be attributed to global warming. But...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Many, many PRs
Back in June 2016, I walked 29 km in one go, and posted "I don't need to do this ever again."You can see where this is going.Here's what I did yesterday:That distance, 32.2 km, is exactly 20 miles. I...
View ArticleFive myths about the Beatles
The Washington Post enumerates them:MYTH NO. 1 The Beatles objected to trading leather outfits for suits and ties.“In the beginning,” John Lennon told Melody Maker, the British music magazine, in 1970,...
View ArticleNew PR
On Saturday I predicted hitting a new PR for total steps in a 7-day period on Thursday. I actually hit it yesterday: 151,791. I wound up getting over 18,000 yesterday, 65,500 for the weekend.And now, I...
View ArticleFast walk from the dentist
My dentist is all the way up in Hubbard Woods, which turns out to be a 21.3 km walk from my house. I know that because I walked it this morning. In fairness, I did it in two roughly-equal parts with a...
View ArticleLunchtime reading
It's been a busy news day:The Post's Robert Kagan says everything will not be all right.Andrew Sullivan asks, "did Trump just stop Brexit?"TPM has a rundown on Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross's...
View Article