Through the mysterious powers of the internet I happened upon an article from a Scottish newspaper, aptly named The Scotsman.  But that’s not important right now.

The big news is this: Beer could be the new weapon against cancer.

MEN now have another excuse to go down the pub thanks to new research suggesting that a compound in beer may prevent prostate cancer. Tests showed that the ingredient, xanthohumol, blocked a biological pathway that allows prostate cancer to be fuelled by the male hormone testosterone.  The disease is commonly treated with drugs that act in a similar way.

‘I screamed, but there was nothing to hear’: Man trapped in 23-year ‘coma’ reveals horror of being unable to tell doctors he was conscious

I am occasionally reminded what an old fogey I really am.  Hmm, I guess just using a word like fogey pretty much proves that point, doesn’t it?  But no, I was speaking musically here.

The impetus for this reflection on being aged was my listening to two new (?) songs this weekend.  I guess new may be relative, but bear in mind my musical tastes are nearly as old as my softball jerseys.

So anyway, my buddy Craig in Canada sent a link to a song in the comments in response to my cosmetic surgery for vagina’s post.  Give it a listen.

Craig, I stand corrected.  I guess some guys do call it that.  “what do I really want in a girl? me.”  Classic.

I also came across a music video at the Althouse blog that was somewhat reminiscent of my MTV watching days in the big hair 80s.  For the production values alone, this video is worth the watch.

Bad romance indeed.  Well, I’m not about to criticize today’s modern music.  That would make me sound like an old geezer or something…

No kidding, I couldn’t make up stuff like this.

Global warming (now known as climate change since the Earth has not in fact warmed for the past ten years or so) is fast becoming the new religion of its zealous adherents.  Woe be to anyone with the audacity to question the tenets of the faith of those who believe in the coming apocalypse.

The One has made it clear that, just as Fox News isn’t legitimate news, anyone who disputes the scientific “consensus” of global warming is not a “real” scientist.  And they will be dealt with accordingly:

Last month, President Obama gave a somewhat chilling, if somewhat ignored, speech on climate change at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He stated that any scientific debate about the magnitude of global warming is unscrupulous, decrying “those who . . . make cynical claims that contradict the overwhelming scientific evidence when it comes to climate change, whose only purpose is to defeat or delay the change that we know is necessary.”

Then, the president talked tough, saying, “We’ll just have to deal with those people,” language familiar to anyone who knows the vagaries of Chicago politics.

The time for debate is over, so sayeth the Messiah.  There can be no dissent.  Unbelievers are heretics, and well, with this unusually cold weather, what better time to re-institute the fine tradition of burning at the stake?

We have not seen this kind of deviation from scientific orthodoxy since the days of Galileo Galilei.  You remember him, don’t you?  The fool actually believed that the Earth revolved around the Sun!  The powers that be dealt with him harshly for ignoring conventional wisdom, and we should learn from that lesson as well.  Arrest them! Burn them!  We will not tolerate naysayers!

Although an argument can be made that the Sun does revolve around the Earth.  Just sayin’.

UPDATE: Global Warming Strikes Korea

Photo from ROKDrop.

In the blogging community the only “lifeform” lower than a troll is the infamous sockpuppet.  For those unfamiliar with the term, Wiki defines it this way:

A sockpuppet is an online identity used for purposes of deception within an online community. In its earliest usage, a sockpuppet was a false identity through which a member of an Internet community speaks with or about himself or herself, pretending to be a different person,^[1] like a ventriloquist manipulating a hand puppet.

There are many real world examples of people caught engaging in sockpuppetry to the detriment of their professional careers.

I welcome any and all comments and points of view.  I expect people to be respectful of each other and I trust anyone commenting here is more than capable of defending themselves and their opinions.

I will not tolerate sockpuppets at LTG.  I sign my name to what I write here, because I decided from day one that if I was not willing to stand behind my words, my words were meaningless.  I respect the fact that some folks use pseudonyms as a matter of comfort or necessity, and that is fine.

But creating a sockpuppet identity to support your own arguments or to personally attack another commenter is in my opinion a chickenshit thing to do.

So it stops now.

Un F—ing believable!

Polanski in his own words:

“If I had killed somebody, it wouldn’t have had so much appeal to the press, you see? But… f—ing, you see, and the young girls. Judges want to f— young girls. Juries want to f— young girls. Everyone wants to f— young girls!”

I need to go take a shower.

And I think this is a workout program I could sink my teeth into… (link not safe for work!)

Hat Tip: ROKDrop

I am really enjoying the thoughtful comments y’all have posting on the healthcare debate.  Both sides on this issue are making some valid points, and really that is what I’d like to see on the national level.  I certainly do not agree with Pelosi and the White House that the protesters constitute an angry un-American mob, but I don’t support tactics intended to drown out legitimate debate either.

You may have noticed that your comments sometimes don’t immediately appear.  For some reason, certain comments get captured in my moderation queue.  I try and check everyday and will release them for posting when I find them.  I do not edit, censor, delete, or otherwise modify any comment.  So have at it!

Speaking of commenters, where have you been Dennis? 

I came across this defense of JRR Tolkien and his work and found it quite fascinating.

I’m a big fan myself, having first read The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy as a teenager.  And many times since.  Including out loud to someone, which is a whole ‘nother to get into the story BTW.

After reading the books the first time me and my buddy Rod Headlee got it into our minds that we should have a Bilbo-like adventure as well.  So we hitchhiked across the Pacific Northwest.  Visited the 1974 Spokane World’s Fair and had an amazing time in Big Sky Montana.  That was also the trip where I was not allowed to enter Canada.  And I’ve never been back.

Ah, memories.

Apparently.

UPDATE:  The movie Jenn and I were trying to remember is Final Destination.  and yeah, it’s a lot like that.

I’m talking Frankie Laine.  Er, singin’ Frankie Laine.

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This video is making the rounds of the internet today, so what the hell, I’ll share it with those of you who might have missed it…

UPDATE: A contrary opinion:

Not to be a grump, but am I the only one who finds this a little over-the-top and, frankly, a little condescending? Plenty of big-voiced PYTs sing their hearts out every week on American Idol (not to mention onstage in Broadway shows) without getting this kind of reaction. But Susan, because of her looks, because of the fact that people were snickering at her before she opened her mouth, becomes a sensation simply by being able to carry a tune. She has a decent voice, sure. But let’s not get carried away. She’s no LuPone, and her talent is only really shocking if you’ve already counted her out as a squawker on account of her granny hairdo and pre-fame Julia Roberts eyebrows. Once the element of surprise is gone, we’re all going to be stuck with the fact that she’s a capable, but by no means extraordinary singer. And is that really worth all the fuss?

Adam Markovitz in EW.com

The Little Prince and the Fox.

Hat Tip: Althouse.

Also: From the comments:

From Tales of Saphhrion by Saint-Arthas:

A frog that lives in Alaska will freeze solid like a rock. There are no snakes in Alaska to eat the frog because they would freeze also. The frog who lives in Alaska is safe yet frozen.

I mentioned my Scottish friend Alisteir a few posts back and how I don’t get a lot of what he says because his English is, well, from Scotland.  One of the words he uses is “Stone” which is apparently some measure of weight back home in the British Isles.  I guess to avoid confusing the monetary unit with the weight of things.  Whatever.  I mention this only to provide context for this newspaper account of a sad family in the motherland: “They weigh 80 stone, claim thousands in benefits – and can’t work. Who do they blame? Anyone but themselves”.  Fascinating read.  I’m not sure how many ‘stones’ I’m up to these days, but it ain’t pretty.  At least I’m employed though.

I had to create a new category “assorted misc.” for this post ’cause it didn’t fit anywhere else.  Nothing like breaking new ground and keepin’ it fresh.  Not that I’d mix metaphors.
Hat Tip: Andrea Harris (The Twisted Spinster)