Wednesday, November 28, 2007

In the News...









Just thought I'd mention some things in the news that I thought were pretty cool and or noteworthy. First was this story I read about the cloning of redwoods to reforest them in california and around the world. Apparently all 'cloning' means is that they clip these branches from the tallest redwoods, dip them in some supped up growth hormone and then replant them. All it takes is 20 of these to replant one acre, which doesn't sound like too many.

"The project was organized by the Champion Tree Project International, a nonprofit group from Michigan that has helped clone many of the largest and oldest living trees, including Methuselah, a bristlecone pine in the White Mountains of eastern California. At more than 4,700 hundred years old, it is believed to be the oldest tree in the world." Though I knew the name Methuselah, I don't think I ever knew it was a tree or that there even was a tree that was that old. I just assumed they hit their life expectancy around a thousand years. Who knew? That is pretty killer though.












Also, news from Pakistan that Musharraf (the president) is dropping his military role and being sworn in as a civilian president. I am not an expert on the situation over there but I have been following it in the news for the last several months and it seems that while it sounds like a good step, it isn't going to change a whole lot. If you have been following the story of Benazir Bhutto, she seems to be the best bet over there to take over, and by best bet I mean in the interest of the world. She isn't the greatest person in the world, but she is the lesser of three evils. I was actually going to write about her at the time of her return to Pakistan after her exile because I feared she was going to be assassinated but it looks like her security is pretty tight. Not to say it won't happen by some crazy extremist, but you have to admire anyone who goes willingly into a shit storm of hatred and violence and actually wants to do something to change the social climate over there.















Lastly was probably the most awkward photo-op I have seen in a long time. I don't remember the last time I saw two people looking so awkward as I did when Al Gore went to the White House to meet with the president. He was invited because of his recent Nobel Peace Prize and was actually invited to a one on one conversation with W. What's crazy is that Bush didn't have to do that. Usually they just invite the winners to dinner or whatever. He took time out of his schedule and waited until Gore was free to schedule the meeting. I guess they talked about global warming but who knows.

Strange times. Also I finally picked a candidate for the primaries. More on that later. As always, get your feet off the ground and reach for the stars. Pain heals, chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever. Go big or go home. Carpe diem. Your heart is free, have the courage to follow it. Life's short, live large.

-M, p, z & shredder.

oh ps - I saw Hitman the other day. I was pretty excited to go see it and oddly I have nothing to say about it. To steal someone's review from rottentomatoes, "At one point, the female lead says to our hero that she's "never felt so much indifference in her life." I knew exactly how she felt."

new music - once again, go get the new alicia keys. quit wasting time. also new jimmy eat world is great.

2 comments:

Brown Guy said...

Hella awkward photo-op, dude.

Gore looks like he just bit down on a really dry horse turd --- which also happens to have the exact consistency of Bush's brain.

Gore, Horse Turds, Bush's Brain.

Beat that.

Other guy said...

I'm not feelin' Bhutto, she had her time to shine.