The University of Connecticut offers a Bachelor’s or Master’s in puppetry! Oh screw this b-school thing. Mom, dad - I’m making puppets!
Monthly Archive for December, 2007
Cecil and Britches : Crumby Presents Merry Christmas!
U.S. House approves toned-down energy bill
“The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a toned-down version of an energy bill that will boost fuel-economy requirements for cars and light trucks to 35 miles per gallon by 2020 — the first such increase since 1975.”
Despite the deep cuts this bill saw, this is a major step in reducing dependence on oil.
Some stats about charitable donation trends in Ontario
Total donations: $4.06 billion
Number of donors: 2,335,890
Median donation: $310
Tax filers claiming donations: 27%
Percentage of income wise, I’d say that’s pretty low. What’s really strange is comparing to numbers I find for the US:
89 percent of households give
The average annual contribution for contributors is $1,620.1
Apparently, that works out to over 3% of income, and it is over 5% of income for individuals making less than $10,000. That seems like a mighty different philanthropy picture from Canada. I would imagine the discrepancy is due to more spending on social programs (through higher taxes) in Canada, so Canadians don’t ‘feel’ as compelled to donate.
Maybe the tax benefits for charitable donations in the US is more enticing as well? Maybe the numbers are highly skewed by the hugely megarich donating gazillions of dollars.
Or maybe I’m totally off and these numbers are on completely different metrics so can’t be compared. Couldn’t find enough info to figure that out.
In any case, I started looking at these numbers to figure out how much I want to be donating. I’ve been sticking to 1% of income, and that puts me ahead in Canadian terms, but way behind in US terms. Now I feel totally inadequate.
Canadian donor stats - statcan.ca
US donor stats - nptrust.org
Joel Plaskett Emergency is my current Canadian indie darling. Love ‘Fashionable People’ right now.
Is it just me, or does it have that ‘Pulp’ feel?
This hallowe’en everyone asked me who the heck Speed Racer was. The answer which meant nothing to anyone: It’s from this Japanese cartoon from the 60’s and is also the new Wachowski brothers’ film.
Well, after seeing the first stills from the movie, which comes out in May 2008, I’m pretty sure that come next hallowe’en everyone will know who the heck Speed Racer is.
(This is going to be a cool movie.)
Scientific American: The Secret to Raising Smart Kids - “Hint: Don’t tell your kids that they are. More than three decades of research shows that a focus on effort—not on intelligence or ability—is key to success in school and in life”
Reason: If you think the reason you failed was because of lack of talent, you give up. If you failed because of lack of effort, you persist.
The Dangerous Wealth of the Ivy League - The Ivy League schools are flush with cash. They have huge endowments, and all that money make it easy for them to draw all the top talent and researchers. With huge problems with public funding of higher ed, the public schools just can’t compete. The Ivys’ suggestion? We’re going to win, so you might as well give up.
Asperger’s Syndrome Gets a Very Public Face - The latest bootee from ANTM, Heather Kuzmich, is autistic. This article is interesting because every other article I’ve read about autism have been about boys or men living with autism. The male to female ratio is 4.3:1
The Boston Globe: Wong claims victory in Fitchburg mayoral race
“With 75 percent of the vote… Lisa Wong, a 28-year-old political newcomer and the daughter of Chinese immigrants, defeated a four-term city councilor to become the first minority mayor in Fitchburg’s 243-year history.”
International Herald Tribune: In Japan, it’s the men who want to be skinny and cute It’s official! Being Asian and skinny is the new black. I’m soooo going to apply for ANTM now.
“In stark contrast, it’s the men who want to be slender, vulnerable and protected. Young males between the ages of 18 and 30 make up the slimmest segment of the population and the ideal fashion weight as decreed by the apparel industry is 57 kilograms, or about 125 pounds, for a height of 175 centimeters, or 5 feet 8 inches. Many men try to adhere to that figure and some claim they want to be even skinnier.”