Minor Wisdom

Science meets red beans

Red-bean lovers may (or may not) be interested in the answer to this question, asked by the good folks at Improbable Research:

Is 9.89 gigaherz the optimal frequency at which to scan kidney bean crops in order to obtain ground-based multi-temporal, multi-angle and co-polarized scatterometer X-band data?

Crazy on them

Back in the 1970s, back in my college, seminary-school days, we were crazy on these two gals. Watching this today, I’m still crazy—and envious of Nancy’s fiddle.

Blogroll makeover

Like many bloggers, I’ve neglected my blogroll. Today I fixed that. So if you’re in the mood to check out a blog you haven’t seen before, I invite you to peruse my updated blogroll. I can’t guarantee that you’ll like everything you’ll find there, but I can guarantee (at least today) no dead ends. Everyone there is current, and at least in my opinion, everyone there has something interesting to say.

P.S. Besides my general blogroll on Minor Wisdom, I have legal-writing and appellate blogrolls on my other blog, The (New) Legal Writer. Some blogs formerly on the MW blogroll have been moved to one of those. So if you’re looking for good appellate or legal-writing blogs, check out those blogrolls on The (New) Legal Writer.

In Australia, do the puppies circle the supper dish the other way?

Hat tip to Improbable Research for this one.

Lineup for Jazz Fest 2011

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has announced its day-by-day musical lineup for this year’s fest. We won’t have specific acts at specific stages at specific times yet, so we can’t do too much planning now. Depending on various variables, here are some folks I may try to see (and a handful I won’t):

• Friday, April 29: Robert Plant, Jeff Beck, Keb’ Mo’, Tab Benoit, George Porter Jr., John Mooney, Los Hombres Calientes, Joe Krown Trio, Willie Tee, Shades of Praise, Morning Star Mass Choir, Voices of Peter Claver.
• Saturday, April 30: Robert Cray, Jeremy Davenport, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Terrance Simien, Sunpie Barnes & the Louisiana Sunspots, Shannon McNally, Wayne Toups, J. Monque’D. No, thank you: Bon Jovi.
• Sunday, May 1: John Mellencamp, Dr. John, Arlo Guthrie, Zachary Richard, Anders Osborne, Tommy Sancton, Jeremy Lyons. No, thank you: Kenny G. I don’t know; I may have to check this out: Tom Jones.
• Thursday, May 5: Lucinda Williams, Amanda Shaw, James Booker piano tribute, Little Freddie King, Spencer Bohren. No, thank you: Cyndi Lauper.
• Friday, May 6: Willie Nelson, Gregg Allman Blues Band, Kermit Ruffins, Edie Brickell, Eric Lindell, Bonerama.
• Saturday, May 7: Jimmy Buffett, Trombone Shorty, Allen Toussaint, Bobby Blue Bland, Marcia Ball, Aaron Neville’s Gospel Experience, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, BeauSoleil, Voice of the Wetlands Allstars, Dr. Michael White, D.L. Menard.
• Sunday, May 8: Neville Brothers, Robert Randolph, Radiators’ farewell, Sonny Landreth, Henry Butler, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Bobby Lounge. No, thanks: Kid Rock.

Dick Winters: A real hero

Dick Winters became a hero of mine when I saw Band of Brothers. He died on Jan. 2. Regardless of your political views, this man was a hero.

Hat tip to Athenae at First Draft.

Humility and its opposite

Today’s Daily Mediation from the Henri Nouwen Society:

One of the greatest dangers in the spiritual life is self-rejection. When we say, “If people really knew me, they wouldn’t love me,” we choose the road toward darkness. Often we are made to believe that self-deprecation is a virtue, called humility. But humility is in reality the opposite of self-deprecation. It is the grateful recognition that we are precious in God’s eyes and that all we are is pure gift. To grow beyond self-rejection we must have the courage to listen to the voice calling us God’s beloved sons and daughters, and the determination always to live our lives according to this truth.

A less kind, less gentle therapist

Fortunately, my therapist isn’t like this one.

Words banished for 2011

Every year, the American people look forward to Lake Superior State University’s annual list of banished words, so much so that the list goes viral. So if you want to man up your vocabulary, refudiate misuse of overused vogue words, and avoid epic fail, check out the list and see if its wow factor gives you an a-ha moment. I’m just saying.

Merry Christmas, y’all

“Christmas is a special day,
Don’t forget to go to church and pray.”

—Fats Domino