First, a moment of Zen from a reader: “A man finds the rarest thing in NYC for his toddlers: unspoiled snow”: Other readers tackle our earlier post: Put me in the category of those who believe that naming winter storms trivializes how serious they have become. Unlike hurricanes, which are given names based on an agreed … Continue reading Winter Storm What? Ctd
This storm is unofficially called #Snochi: http://t.co/0vxyTg2OJD Sorry #Pax — Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) February 13, 2014 http://twitter.com/TheMadameMeow/status/434030403423195136 As the WaPo and the Weather Channel offer competing titles for the latest winter blast, Claire Maiers notes that simply naming a snowstorm makes us more likely to freak out about it: First, the list of names chosen … Continue reading Winter Storm What?
As #Boreas continues to hit parts of #NY tonight & tomw, pls stay safe. Keep updated w/info here: https://t.co/LzuLEMlEkj — Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) November 26, 2013 With news that a winter storm might wreak havoc on Thanksgiving travel plans, Ian Crouch notes how, unlike hurricanes, “big winter storms have always been nameless, at least until … Continue reading Branded Storms
by Patrick Appel Adam Alter explains: [P]sychologist Jesse Chandler and his colleagues found that people donate significantly more money to hurricanes that share their initials. So Roberts, Ralphs and Roses donated on average 260% more to the Hurricane Rita relief fund than did people without R initials. Also in 2005, people with K initials donated 150% more to … Continue reading How We Should Name Hurricanes
Joe Jervis completely understands my decision to stop blogging: Man, do I get this. Anybody who does live news blogging knows all too well the havoc this kind of work can wreak upon your personal life. Sure, there’s great freedom to be able to work wherever you are and any time. But you also have to work … Continue reading A Blogger Breaks Free: Blog Reax
NYC radar shows band of heavy snow inching its way toward metro area pic.twitter.com/WwJeptLVgx — Weather Underground (@wunderground) January 27, 2015 The historic storm is peaking. So far four governors have declared states of emergency, more than 7,000 flights have been cancelled, and road travel is banned in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, and NYC, where the entire public … Continue reading Snowpocalypse Now
For the far right, the recent Synod on the Family was bad enough, with its gestures of decency towards gay Catholics. But the impending encyclical on climate change seems to have sparked a new level of mania. At First Things, Maureen Mullarkey calls the Pope “an ideologue and a meddlesome egoist”. Robbie George notes that Francis “has no … Continue reading Francis vs The Theocons, Round II
Several readers sound off: A military draft would help with our current segregation problem. No, not race, but segregation by income and ideologies. It is easy to hate “the other” when one has never met the “the other”. It is harder to hate them when they are an okay guy or girl you spent two years with … Continue reading The Weird Liberal Love Affair With The Draft, Ctd
“I have been thinking about existence lately. In fact, I have been so full of admiration for existence that I have hardly been able to enjoy it properly. As I was walking up to the church this morning, I passed that row of big oaks by the war memorial — if you remember them — … Continue reading Quote For Thanksgiving Day
A wistful reader gets us started: Priest Lake, Idaho. No good reason, except the photo reminds me of this place I love. It’s really heaven on earth. I wish I could be there now. Another spins the globe: Looking towards The Remarkables from Halfway Bay, New Zealand? Another is thinking Canada: I’m unfortunately short of time to … Continue reading The View From Your Window Contest: Winner #225
The Dish 