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It has been suggested to me, quite sensibly I agree, that I indulge my interest in limericks by posting a Limerick thread. So I am.
I am calling the thread "The Limerick News" because each limerick will be inspired by a recent story in a leading newspaper.
Today's first limerick is inspired by "Accessory to Murder" in today's New York Times [posted in "Miscellany"]. Here's an extract:
"A backpack! Has a more ordinary, more benign, more ubiquitous accouterment of modern life ever taken on such a sudden connotation of darkness?"
Consider the once geeky backpack
Loaded with books and a snack -
Get out of the way
'Cause on the subway
The load could explode on a back.
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Movies have become what director Alfred Hitchcock called a "MacGuffin" — a red herring that triggers a plot but has no other inherent value. Like MacGuffins, movies have little inherent purpose except to be talked about, written about, learned about — shared as information. [Movies just don't matter, Los Angeles Times, July 31, 2005 - see "Miscellany"]
Today, all the movies are drab
Compared to Oprah's free gab.
A glam MacGuffin
Will keep us all gushin'
Without payin' the box office tab.
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Beliefs drive research agenda of new think tanksBoston Globe, July 31, 2005 The [research] journal, which typically charges $27.50 per page to print an article, is portrayed by Ammons as a "scientific manifestation of free speech."
By contrast, the largest professional journals, which are often cited as sources of medical information -- such as Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine -- say they will reject an article if any peer reviewer raises serious objections about its methodology. Those journals do not charge for publication.http://snipurl.com/gmbmA research journal today Will take any claptrap for pay. As for peer review - "We haven't a clue. It's science cooked our own way."
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Evolution of names for kidsSan Francisco Chronicle, July 31, 2005 "Once a name catches on among high-income, highly educated parents, it starts working its way down the socioeconomic ladder," he wrote. High-end names become low-end names and eventually become dead-end names.
For their daughter, the Levitts chose Sophie from a list of two dozen girl's names that are popular today with highly educated parents. He predicts these names -- like Aviva, Flannery, Linden, Maeve and Waverly -- will be as common in 10 years as Emily, Hannah and Madison are today.
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Since "Freakonomics" became a hit (it's No. 4 on Amazon.com), Levitt has had less time to do research, but he has been deluged with new data, which he calls the key to his work.http://snipurl.com/gmceThere's more to a stat than we know. "Freakonomics", the research will show, Points to a trend Which you can befriend When a name on your child you bestow.
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Anti-scam book uses swindlers as unwitting teachersSeattle Times, July 31, 2005 Phantom dreams: These are the basis of nearly every scam, according to Shadel — something the victim desperately wants but that is out of reach.
Maybe it's easy money, free travel, providing for family or making a charitable donation to solve a problem.
A sophisticated con asks questions to unearth the victim's fantasy then gets the victim to fixate on that dream and become disconnected from reality and logic, Shadel said.http://snipurl.com/gmcsA con artist targets your dream He will make all your fantasies seem Like a dream that's come true At a price just for you. Phantom dreams disappear just like steam.
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Net-savvy Gore banking on TVChicago Tribune, July 31, 2005 Gore, a self-described "recovering politician," is Current's chairman, and entrepreneurial lawyer Joel Hyatt is CEO. But the network is selling itself as "the first national network created by, for and with an 18-to-34-year-old audience."
"We want to be the television home page for the Internet generation," Gore said, though there's no shortage of existing media outlets targeting this particular demographic, which is coveted by advertisers in the belief that the virtue of thrift isn't learned until middle age.http://snipurl.com/gmf0Is politics just an addiction Like crack or other affliction? Will chad-stricken Gore From "recovery" roar In quest of electoral benediction?
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World Not Set To Deal With FluWashington Post, July 31, 2005 Public health officials preparing to battle what they view as an inevitable influenza pandemic say the world lacks the medical weapons to fight the disease effectively, and will not have them anytime soon.
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Meanwhile, the most dangerous strain of influenza to appear in decades -- the H5N1 "bird flu" in Asia -- is showing up in new populations of birds, and occasionally people, almost by the month, global health officials say.
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In hopes of slowing a pandemic's spread, public health specialists have been debating proposals for unprecedented countermeasures. These could include vaccinating only children, who are statistically most likely to spread the contagion; mandatory closing of schools or office buildings; and imposing "snow day" quarantines on infected families -- prohibiting them from leaving their homes.http://snipurl.com/gmfcA "bird virus" is heading our way A frightening pandemic will lay Millions low With nowhere to go. Every day will be a "snow day".
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it was easy to see why the Mets are so high on Jiuz. He possesses what scouts call "plus tools" -- a strong arm, soft hands, speed and power -- as well as a ''good body.'' Lean and muscular, he appears in no danger of growing fat. Right now, he's listed at 6-foot-3 and 176 pounds, but with better nutrition and weight training, the Mets' senior scout for the Dominican Republic, Eddy Toledo, expects him to put on 25 pounds of muscle over the next few yearsBuilding the Béisbol BrandNew York Times Magazine, July 31, 2005 http://snipurl.com/gmmuIf you want to play ball with the best You will have to bring more to the test Than the talent to lead. "Plus tools" you will need - Speed and power to blow past the rest.
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How much does GQ magazine like the new movie "The Dukes of Hazzard?" Enough to feature two stars from the film on its cover in successive months. --- The movie opens on Friday.
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the two covers were indicative of a strategy of creating and feeding addiction in readers. By parceling out the stars, magazines can potentially sell two magazines to fans of the film.
"Magazines have learned, rather than give it to you in one dose, they will give it to you one piece at a time. I used to say that a magazine was like a candy bar, you unwrap it and enjoy it, but now they are more like Reese's Pieces. Rather than eating the whole thing at once, you keep coming back for more."Two Covers of One Magazine Give Great P.R. for New MovieNew York Times, August 1, 2005 http://snipurl.com/gmy4Our culture is completely addicted To 'highs', yet no-one predicted, That a dose of a mag Gets you hooked like a bag Of some drug by the law interdicted.
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The strategic shielding of most voters from any emotional or financial sacrifice for these wars cannot but trigger the analogue of what is called "moral hazard" in the context of health insurance, a field in which I've done a lot of scholarly work. There, moral hazard refers to the tendency of well-insured patients to use health care with complete indifference to the cost they visit on others. ----- But if all but a handful of Americans are completely insulated against the emotional -- and financial -- cost of war, is it not natural to suspect moral hazard will be at work in that context as well?Who's Paying for Our Patriotism?By Uwe E. Reinhardt Washington Post, Monday, August 1, 2005; Page A17 http://snipurl.com/gn38Noncombatants enjoying the fruits (Most often the guys in the suits) Of missing the war Think war is a bore. A "moral hazard" which breeds only brutes. BTW this issue is explored in the new movie "Stealth" in which a robotic Stealth bomber is insensitive to the risks of "collateral damage" when targeting an enemy position. Unlike the other members of the Stealth team, it doesn't have any blood in its veins [what Shakespeare called "the milk of human kindness"]. "What we don't know, can't hurt us" is not an aphorism. It's a defence mechanism. What we don't know can hurt us, of course. Worse, it can brutalize us.
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