More snow – heavy stuff. NYC public school kids have already been told of closing! (of course, I’m still bitter about never having a snow day during my entire NYC public school life, and in high school, senior year, we had this one horrible winter when it should have been closed; ironically, schools did close, one year later…).
NY Times’ Quotation of the day for 1/27/04:
“There has been an enduring idea that one day everyone would fly in space. But now young people are saying maybe we all go into space but we go mentally, virtually, electronically — we don’t go with our bodies.” – Howard McCurdy, author of “Space and the American Imagination.”
According to the corresponding article, the excitement of the Mars rovers (who are cute little things to which people are attaching personalities and sympathies) are apparently making science/astronomy nerds out of all of us. It doesn’t hurt that NASA’s website is making it easier for people to feel the attachment – the pictures are amazing and our imagination just soars with them. Maybe something positive can come out of the Mars effort, assuming that the government and politics don’t co-opt it (perhaps wishful thinking on my part).
Okay, okay, so this is the article wherein the NY Times wonders if the cold’s making NY’ers’ brains go numb. Hmm. Makes me like the other article from yesterday, with the Icelander saying that this weather was worse than what he knew in Iceland. I just don’t like the idea of my brain going numb because of the cold weather. The idea sounds like a wacky B movie or something. Besides, malapropism is a problem that may not have anything to do with the cold weather numbing our brains; a person saying she’s “preparing for winter” when she meant “for summer” may be reflecting the thoughts deep in her mind – a Freudian slip to express one’s fondness for much warmer temperatures…
NJ Nets’ firing of head coach Byron Scott was rather stunning news. I mean, it was already unsurprising that he didn’t quite care about the possible move to Brooklyn, since he was more worried about his job security (the Nets weren’t going to make any move until 2005, and Scott, understandably, couldn’t imagine looking to that year if his team wasn’t doing so hot in 2004). But, they really terminated his employment fast.
Currently watching Nova – spooky and fascinating episode on the Mayans. An oldie but a goodie. Check it out when your PBS rebroadcasts it.