Open Threads

For no reason that I can think of, the following song has been stuck in my head since I woke up this morning:

Still one of the best theme songs, I think.

I saw a show on the National Geographic channel a while back that said that a series of Air Force tests on human reactions to extreme G forces years ago offered evidence that when people experience the “light at the end of the tunnel” in near death experiences, that it was actually the brain shutting down non essential functions due to oxygen deprivation. I have read a couple of books on memory for various classes, but I simply don’t remember any theories as to why songs get “stuck in our head.” Anyone know?

*** Update ***

Via the comments, this, which is just all sorts of excellent:

Listen to it a couple times, and spend one just listening to the guy singing “big baboon.” Reminds me of the background riff (the musical name is escaping me atm) to “Hey Ladies.” I had never heard of Moxy Fruvous before.

Eternal SunshinePost + Comments (89)

Millions of people have already packed the national Mall to capacity. I hope that someone remembered to bring a loaf and a fish.

Open ThreadPost + Comments (29)

For the life of me, I can not remember what the topics are today. I guess it will be like Christmas, but in January. Speaking of, this is a shot of what it looks like outside my place:

You can’t see the snow coming down, but it is, and that, my friends, is STEELER WEATHER.

Putting aside the stunning news that Krispy Kreme is joining Dunkin’ Donuts in the UPJ (United Pastry Jihad), the most surprising this morning is how many of you apparently liked Burn After Reading. Sorry, I love the Coen brothers, Raising Arizona, Miller’s Crossing, the Big Lebowski, the Hudsucker Proxy and O’ Brother are all genius, but Burn After Reading sucked. There was approximately one funny line, and that was the Mormon quip in the first 3 minutes of the movie.

Finally, I know I will get flamed mercilessly for this, and will be told that I simply don’t understand the historical significance, that I should just shut up because I voted for Bush and let people have their day, that my judgment is terrible and I should not be trusted, that I am just being harsh on Obama because I feel hoodwinked by Bush and won’t get fooled again, and blah blah blah, but the stuff this weekend feels like it has been over-the-top.

I can’t tell if it is just my general lack of enthusiasm for crowds, but there just seems to be a bit of unseemly gushing- this feels like Princess Di or something. I realize that the rise of cable news and 24/7 coverage means that it is going to be either the inauguration or some kidnapped blonde teenager, but I don’t know- it just seems excessive.

Again, I am not trying to downplay the historical significance of this, as several strands of history are all converging on Tuesday for a really amazing occasion. Nor am I unaware how elated we all are that Bush is leaving (and considering I played a role in getting Bush elected, I am thrilled that mistake is being pushed off center stage). And, again, I had no problem with Obama speaking in Europe, and never got my knickers in a twist about the columns at the inauguration, but this whistlestop tour, with all the mini events and the fawning media just seems to me to be too much. As low-key as Obama normally is, I am surprised he signed on to it all.

And because I’m not trying to ruin this for everyone and act like a wet blanket (especially because I am as excited as everyone else), and really am not trying to start another flame war, this is the last time I will say anything. Maybe I am just not remembering how big of a deal inaugurations were because cable news wasn’t as omnipresent in 2000, and it has been eight years since the last transition from one party to another and my memory has faded. Maybe I have just forgotten how much I hate pomp and circumstance.

CBS Sunday MorningPost + Comments (125)

All the news this morning seems focused on that miraculous plane landing yesterday on the Hudson, and it really is pretty impressive what that pilot pulled off. I will leave it to the oddsmakers to figure out what the chances are of something like that happening with no fatalities, but I would bet they are pretty long odds. The crew deserves a hand, too, as it appears they had those people out of there in an orderly fashion in no time. All of this has been said before, and probably better, so let me move to the things that I find interesting.

1.) The NTSB is sending 20 people to investigate the wreck. I am not sure what it is, but I am fascinated by these guys (and talk about them every chance I get). My question- what do they do all year when there are not big crashes like this? Are they folks who have other jobs and are on call? Or are there enough wrecks of minor note that they are kept busy that way until the big one?

2.) The plane apparently had something called a ditch switch, which the pilot his in situations just like this one and the entire underbelly of the plane is then sealed. That is why the plane was especially buoyant. Are these on most planes? The last time I flew, I remembered thinking to myself that the airlines must have spent billions of dollars on design and engineering on all the little safety things that, in the life of a plane, will probably never ever get used, but sure do make a difference when you need it. This seems to be one of them. At any rate, about that ditch switch- never heard of it before. Any pilots out there who can elaborate?

3.) I can not believe more folks have not had to be treated for hypothermia. The bitter cold and the water yesterday seems like a classic case of the Siberian dilemma.

About That Plane LandingPost + Comments (137)

You know, with eight years of torture, unnecessary war, and everything else, it’s easy to forge that, in many ways, Americans about the nicest people on earth:

What’s the greatest challenge of traveling on $5 a day?
When you travel with that kind of money, you are entirely at the mercy of strangers. Because $5 doesn’t get you anywhere. You can’t really do anything.

[….]

What’s the most stunning act of generosity you’ve received?
I arrived in Indianapolis. I’d met an old lady on the train with her husband, and they put me up in a hotel. But that wasn’t the act. I woke up the next morning and I was chatting with this younger lady who had a 1-year-old son, and it turns out that she lived in Chicago. And she said to me — and this was within the first five minutes, I’m not exaggerating — she said to me, “If you can find your way to Chicago, I will give you the only set of keys to my house. You can stay in my house. I will be back the next day. Leave the keys in the flowerpot, and you can stay in my house. There’s chili in the fridge.” At the end, when she gave me her keys, she then said to me, “So, sorry, what’s your name?”

Do you find you get more help from tourists or from locals?
In America, it was primarily locals. And in England. In Europe, it was primarily tourists. American tourists, believe it or not, they saved me so many times, to the point that I would wake up in the morning and I’d be like, “O.K. guys, we’ve gotta find some Americans.”

The kindness of <strike>strangers</strike> AmericansPost + Comments (61)