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While much of what is on the web is junk, there are some great resources for folks who want to use their discretionary time effectively.C-SPAN has a full archive of all its programming over the years.One thing I find of value at the C-SPAN site is the Booknotes page. Booknotes was a weekly interview program that ran each week for a number of years.The most recent interview I listened to was one from 1989 with Colonel David Hackworth. Colonel Hackworth...

The sons and daughters of America's elite are rioting and fighting police so as to defend the honor of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.Mr. Paterno is alleged to have helped cover up for a Penn St . coach who had allegedly engaged in illegal and quite disturbing sexual condiuct with children.From the NY Times---"After top Penn State officials announced that they had fired Joe Paterno on Wednesday night, thousands of students stormed the downtown area to display their...

Rarely do the worlds of sports, education, and morality collide in any real way. However, they have collided in Pennsylvania this week as Penn State University is embroiled in the the biggest scandal to hit college sports in at least a decade. Former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky has been charged with sexual abuse. That alone is not the story. The story is the cover up that ensued. The New York Times is now reporting that legendary...

Dear Mr. Selig,If you are anything like me, you sometimes run hot and cold with your emotions. When that happens, I am practiced at the art of writing the scathing letter where I get out all of my emotions and use every dirty name in the book. Then, I crumple up the paper and start over. I did that once and then published my second draft over at Bleacher Report. As you might have suspected,...

I'm going to get a haircut today. It has been almost two months since my last haircut.(Above---An 1880 painting called The Barber. The Barber is the work of Nikolaos Gyzis. I really don't like that painting at all.)I've been going to the same barber for 13 years. He has no idea what my name is. He always calls me "Young man."  The barber can call me young man as he is pressing 80.At the end of his...

A few days ao I made post about attending an Astros' game.As it turned out, this was the 200,00th Major League Baseball game played since the founding of the National League in 1876.Who knew?Well....it seems these nice folks below knew.Sometimes you just show up someplace and there is a blog post already waiting for you.The 200,000th game involved the Colorado Rockies defeating the Houston Astros by a score of 4-2 in 13 innings.Here is a list of the...

There have been large protests in Yemen in recent days and renewed protests in Morocco as the so-called Arab Spring continues.(Above--Protests in Syria earlier in 2011. Photo by Syriana2011.)These events take place as the very brave protesters in Syria keep up the presssure despite Tiananmen Square style brutality from the Assad government and as a new government takes over in Libya. Longstanding repressive governments have previously been toppled in 2011 in Tunisia and Egypt. One of the best sources to learn about these uprisings and revolutions is Global Voices.Global Voices offers...

Historians have always told us to make sure we learn our history or we will be doomed to repeat. That sounds easy enough, but we must be sure to understand the lesson first. Our parents told us about the boy who cried wolf, Pinocchio, and other all of the Brothers Grimm tales.  Those all had simple lessons that were easy to learn. Yet, how do we take the convoluted events of our lives and convert...

This is where my father and his family once lived on Potter Street in Providence, Rhode Island.My father lived 1930-2011.I took this picture last week.My father's house is now gone and my dad is now dead.There is now a community garden at this location.Here is what it says in Isaiah 40:6-8---The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the...

Instead of reading this blog, go and read about events in Libya.After many years of brutal dictatorship, it seems hopeful that Muammar el-Qaddafi (Above) is on the way out.Though, as I write this post, the battle is not yet over.Here is live blogging of events in Libya from the BBC.The excellent Global Voices has reports from Libyan bloggers and a live Twitter feed from Libya.Global Voices has reports from people all over the world who are working for...