midweek round-up

All sorts of happenings this week, from the sublime to the ridiculous and all the way on to the heartbreaking.

First, our own dear Governor Patterson recently climbed up a notch on my politicians-who-don't-always-suck totem pole with his recent directive to all New York State agencies to prepare for fully recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. Of course there's the ever present anxiety and fear that the Republicans might challenge said directive, but I'm not sure what the challenge would be. Back in February a State Appellate Court ruled that NY has to recognize gay marriages from other states or countries, so Patterson's move is merely upholding a judicial ruling. Though I'm sure State Senator Bruno & his senate followers will find something to complain about.

Next up, Naomi Campbell just can't seem to stop getting into physical altercations with people. Now, as you can probably imagine, I'm not generally one to follow the fashion industry, or fashion at all, for that matter. But when a high-end celebrity supermodel can't seem to stop acting like a spoiled brat, I can't seem to stop being fascinated. Get it together, Naomi, or go back to kindergarten.

Also in the realm of the ridiculous, the Chinese premier debuted on Facebook earlier this week! How hip and youthful of him!

It seems the good people at the Times have a preoccupation with Portland, Oregon these days. They're not the only ones.

And here, one of the best headlines ever: Nude Man Accused in 10th-Floor Balcony Break-In

And here, an argument for stepdad Paul about the environmental benefits of urban living. My carbon footprint's smaller than yours! So there!

Robert Darnton, renowned historian and director of the Harvard University Library, and author of the fascinating Great Cat Massacre: and other episodes in French cultural history (the title story available, and well worth reading, online here) has an interesting piece in the current New York Review of Books called (and here my geekdom shows through yet again) The Library in the New Age.

Finally, and on a more serious note, U.S Withdraws Fulbright Grants to Gaza, meaning we are canceling scholarships to Palestinian students to come study in the United States because the Israeli government might not permit them to leave the Gaza Strip. Which seems like an incredibly bad PR move, not to mention a just plain unfair situation. The Fulbright Program is an amazing thing, offering not only the opportunity for American students to study abroad (my father in 1978, for example, thus our year in Germany), but also the opportunity for foreign students to come study here in America (Abdulrahman Abdullah, Hamas opponent, 30 years old, wants to earn an MBA, for example). Or, in its own words, the Fulbright program "was established in 1946 by the U.S. Congress to enable the government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries." Doesn't this seem like something that would be to everyone's benefit to encourage in the ongoing powder keg that is the Middle East? I understand the U.S. government's problem --- money, being the bottom line, wasted on students who might not be able to partake in the program. I'm not sure what the Israeli government's problem is.