Character

Few things are less indicative of character than one's attitude toward monogamy.

Is Dolling Up Parody?

In 1994 that the Supreme Court ruled that parody can be protected by the fair use clause of the Copyright Act of 1976. The case arose from a song by the rap group 2 Live Crew, which used elements of the Roy Orbison song from 1964: "Oh Pretty Woman". Among those who argued against the case of 2 Live Crew (being sued for copyright violation by the copyright holders of this song,) was Dolly Parton. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of 2 Live Crew.

Blue Sky Blue

There is a pigment the Mayans made and used for ceremonial purposes which scientists cannot recreate. This pigment color is called Maya Blue and not only can it not be currently recreated, this pigment has unusual qualities--it is extremely durable and in the words of National Georgraphic (who may have been quoting Antiquity magazine), shows "remarkable ability to resist age, acid, weathering, and even modern chemical solvents." We know about this durability from surviving examples of the pigment on bowls.

2001 SN 263 (a number to remember)

2001 SN 263 is the name of an asteroid which, they just discovered, is actually three bodies orbiting each other. In the words of spaceref news:

First near-Earth triple asteroid discovered by Arecibo Observatory astronomers – a mere 7
million miles from Earth
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=24775

Once considered just your average single asteroid, 2001 SN263 has now been revealed as the
first near-Earth triple asteroid ever found. The asteroid - with three bodies orbiting each other -
was discovered this week by astronomers at the sensitive radar telescope at Cornell University's
Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.

Chocolate Covered Irony

By a lovely coincidence today,February 14, dedicated to lovers, is the birthday of Thomas Malthus (1766) who observed and wrote abstractly of the dynamics of population. The connection is that of microcosm to macrocosm. He was not observant enough, though, as any keeper of a feral cat colony can attest. Population dynamics have a way of demonstrating laws which defy the binary mind of man. After two human generations of spaying and neutering cats, in an effort to shape the population of felines, the result has been that the average litter size (of cats) in the United States has increased from four to six kittens. Tom's own idea was to reduce human population by refusing charitable aid to the poor, so they would die off. He meant people die off, not cats.

Fantasy Tiger

The fantasy golf games do not let the players -- any of them -- pick Tiger Woods for their team.

Squirrels just pretend to hide nuts

Really, sometimes they do this, and according to newscientist.com, this may be to fool other animals.