origin story

Not to be outdone by Turkey’s demagoguery in restricting instruction on evolution in public schools, the state of Florida, as Boing Boing reports, has passed legislation that grants any resident, regardless if they are a pupil or the parent of a student or not, the right to request an official hearing into the propriety of classroom teaching materials.
With proponents already advocating the merits of the statue as a means to countermand lessons in evolution, unflattering histories, sex education, the science of climate change and anything else deemed other than anodyne and orthodox, school distinct will be required to retain the services of an “unbiased” inquiry officer—a sort of devil’s advocate to judge the educational merits of text-books, documentaries, film and literature on a case by case basis. It is rather a challenge to strictly compartmentalise disciplines when it comes to the sciences and I can see archeology, geology and cosmology being struck down along the spectrum as well.  By its nature, teaching is not without controversy and has always been under the assault of cowards but never before in modern times was one allowed to lodge a grievance that’s to result in binding censorship without legal standing (locus standi)—that someone not directly affected or has a stake in the matter can indict a class curriculum for everyone.

opposition, appostition

Eager to instigate a conversation on what is meant by ability and disability and to what degree the senses and dexterity is hard-wired, a graduate student from New Zealand has created a prosthetic thumb that can enhance and extend one’s five-fingered capabilities.
This project is more than an academic pursuit, I think, given that the opposable pollex imparted a distinct evolutionary, manual advantage for humans. Presently, the device worn like a wrist-watch and is controlled by adjusting pressure in one’s feet—the coordination sort of like playing a musical instrument, which the extra thumb is also changing but could probably just as easily made subject to mental regulation and intention. I wonder what sort of phantom limb feelings might linger after trying out one of these prosthetics after getting accustomed to it. Be sure to check out the source link up top to see a full demonstration and more applications.

appellation d'origine contrôlée or blessed are the cheesemakers

Though I will be the first to admit that I am a woefully inadequate copy-editor and do a poor job proof-reading my own material, this apparent typo on the recently unveiled war memorial in Columbia City, Indiana seems mute testimony to sloppiness and the need for a second set of eyes for those situations where a squiggly underscore isn’t there to help.
But I say apparent because perhaps there’s an outside chance that the engraver is making a statement. Protections for regional—sometimes very, very specific locations, artisanal produce and delicacies are quite different than raging nationalism, but that difference is nonetheless by degrees and not in kind, I suppose. It’s still a dichotomy among vintners, cheese mongers and other specialists that creates an in- and an out-group that holds that there’s something imparted by the land and habitat where the food or drink is sourced. Is it placist and a sign of insecurity to believe so and to believe that those coming from elsewhere are somehow impure and of lesser quality? What do you think? I don’t believe that was the message, but most wars that anyone has prosecuted seem to be justified around the same narrative (land sometimes substituted with blood) and I wouldn’t be surprised if America didn’t enter into a trade war that informs future monuments—but not for those on the losing side.

ballot-stuffing

Chaired with distinction by his Viceroy whilst Dear Leader busies himself savaging the press with greater and great sophistication and unwavering maturity, the reception of his “election integrity” committee charged with the prevention of voter-fraud, which is cited as having cost Dear Leader the popular vote. Half of the governors of the states of the Union have either expressed that they have no intention of surrendering their voter rolls, to include names addresses, party affiliation and past voting history, over to the federal government for the commission’s inspection—or have only offered to compile that data that is already publicly available.
We hope this trend of not giving cowing to his whims endures.  Dear Leader questions what have those states (both those who supported him and those that rail against him) to hide—heralding more thinly-veiled threats to follow. Voter fraud is a far more specious bugaboo than terrorism and is not an endemic or significant problem any jurisdiction, and without a secret-ballot or political privacy there’s no means to safeguard an electorate from intimidation, blackmail or buying and selling votes. No doubt real task of this committee is to make voter registration a more onerous task for those of the wrong persuasion, and no doubt the 2020 US Census is not safe from such an unnecessary and partisan overhaul—especially when the lines of representation can be redrawn and drive dissenting voices further into the margins. Not only is Dear Leader’s investigation about consolidating power and gaslighting those with independent opinions, it also begs the largest breach of personal data of all time—providing hackers with a large, lethargic target easy enough to prise open.