Seen and Heard on the Links

I've called for a writers' strike today, to protest the Academy Awards, from which my favorite film got shut out. (Hang in there, Don! 2008, we take back the Oscars!) In exchange for the original crap I usually dispense, here are a few tidbits from the wide world of blog. Enjoy at your own risk.

If you're tired of all the hoopla over The Gates, check out The Crackers from Culture Kitchen. (via Rox Populi)

For more art in the kitchen fun, check out Foodie's new find, the EggCuber.

One panel of the box pictured a primitively drawn, puzzled chicken, gazing down at the square egg she has just produced. The hen comments : "?#!! OUCH!"

Square eggs. This vegan can only look on wistfully.

From FunctionalAmbivalent, the most interesting post on the passing of Hunter S. Thompson I've read (and there are plenty to choose from, though I must say I never worshipped at the Alter of HST):

Here's something I think no one but me can say honestly:

Back when I had a brain tumor, Hunter Thompson visited me in my hospital room and autographed my Bible.

Via NewMexiKen, a WhiteHouseTapes.org recording of President Johnson ordering slacks. If you're a student of presidential trivia, you'll find it fascinating. If not, you'll be amused by the belching ex-President. (Remind me again, we let boys run the world WHY?)

Random Thoughts reminds us where the real crisis lies: It's Health Care, Stupid! Specifically, Medicaid, which is the safety net of last resort, not to mention the source of funding for over half of all nursing home residents.

Thirty-four states are already restricting Medicaid benefits. In Bush's first term, the number of uninsured increased from 40 to 45 million. It's only going to get worse. The Knight Ridder story puts the numbers into the equation, making it easier to figure out when you won't be able to pay your premiums any longer.

And finally, Lesley at Plum Crazy discusses the perceived gender differences as they relate to map reading and math...which reminded me of my daughter, who has phenomenal spatial skills, and my husband, who can't find his way down the street without a GPS.

A more telling study, IMO, is this one, which indicates no gender differences in cognition when children are tested. It also points to studies of adolescents where differences in nationality, as well as gender, affected mathematical scores. Interestingly, Japanese girls scored higher on math skills than American and European boys. Unless we’re all prepared to concede that the Japanese are just genetically superior to Americans and Europeans, which I don’t think we are, the results are likely attributable to socialization. Furthermore, in only half the countries where adolescents were tested did boys perform better than girls in math.