Sunday miscellaneous

Who does Nate Silver like for the next Pope?

The good and bad about Los Angeles: Yesterday it was 82 degrees. But you couldn’t drive north. A major freeway is under construction, most northbound lanes are closed for the weekend and surface street traffic on the Westside was completely snarled. A citizen’s group has snapped into action. To protest traffic delays they’re holding a rally,

EVEN GODS ARE NOT SAFE IN INDORE

THIEVES STRIKE AT THREE 
TEMPLES IN INDORE, INDIA

http://daily.bhaskar.com - Unidentified miscreants struck at three different temples situated under Annapurna area and decamped with booty worth thousands of dollars late on Saturday night. The thieves targeted Sai Mandir and Sri Ram Mandir situated in the vicinity of Bank Colony and also broke open the locks of a Shiv Mandir situated in adjacent, Vishwakarma Colony. The incident came to fore when locals thronged the temples to offer their morning prayers and discovered the theft. Following this, a team of Annapurna police reached the spot and took stock of the situation but found no vital clue about the miscreants. 
The police suspect that the thefts were committed under the influence of drugs or alcoholic substance by some local miscreants, who were aware that the area was quite deserted with inadequate lights arrangement.

As the news of theft spread in the area, local residents gathered outside the temples and registered their protest against the incidents. The residents accused police of negligence as there was no police patrolling in the area. The locals warned police of soon arrest and stern actions against the thieves or they would stage a demonstration against the department. A case was registered at Annapurna police station and further investigation was underway.
Over a dozen temples, gurudwaras and shrines situated in different parts of the city have been barged in last one month. Besides, thefts in eight temples situated in Annapurna, Chandan Nagar, Rajendra Nagar and Hira Nagar have been reported in last five days. The incidents have raised a question mark over the claims of the police about night patrolling. The police even could not ascertain the identity of the miscreants involved in any of these thefts.

A new theft incident of sacred Hindu temple objects took place. This time in Indore, India. Thieves made away with donation boxes and other valuables from the temples Sai Mandir and Sri Ram Mandir in Bank Colony and Shiv Mandir in Vishwakarma Colony. Faithless crimes committed at Hindu temples is not new. In June 2010, two black granite statutes of Jaya and Vijaya, the guardians to the abode of Vishnu, were stolen from the entrance to the prayer hall of the Hindu Cultural Center of North Alabama (USA). In May 2011, thieves desecrated three Kuala Selangor temples in Malaysia and stole gold platelets and navarathinam (precious stones) placed in the sanctum ground before a Hindu deity is installed. In March of 2012 several incidents - a total of 31 burglaries of sacred objects - took place in Hindu temples across the island of Bali. Also last year, in November, a sacred statue of Lord Shiva - worth nearly $ 10,000 - was stolen from the Indian Cultural Society Hindu Temple and Mahatma Gandhi Center in Wayne, New Jersey (USA).  Please, support your local temple! 

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

In Hindu's homes around the world, the center of the home is the family altar, where spiritual values are shared. In America, the center of the home is the family television set, where the favorite fare is sitcoms, where anti-social skills are learned (the favorite source of "humor" in sitcoms is usually insult and sexual innuendo). It is the goal of every devout Hindu to visit the different places of pilgrimage (especially after retirement), such as Varanasi, Vrindavana, Badarikashrama, and great holy places of worship such as the temples of Venkateshwara, Jagannatha and Ranganath. In the United States, the places of pilgrimage are either Reno, Atlantic City, or Las Vegas, the Mecca’s of gambling, meat eating, intoxication, and prostitution. ... Hindu temples, on the other hand, are small islands of refuge for dharma, and are supported by only a small minority of people. They need your help!

Śrīpad Yajnavalkya Dasa :
"Defending Dharma"
http://stephen-knapp.com/defending_dharma.htm
http://es.scribd.com/doc/46973472/DefendingDharma

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
http://www.vedicviews-worldnews.blogspot.com.ar/

When your girlfriend's father HATES you

From time to time I've been featuring excerpts from my book about growing up in the San Fernando Valley -- THE ME GENERATION... BY ME (available here.. PLEASE BUY IT). One prompted a comment from fellow classmate Alexis along with a request:

contrary to what you remember, I remember thinking you were cute, funny, and...well, cute and funny will have to suffice.

You should relate the "Helene"

In memory of Bonnie Franklin...

So sorry to hear of the passing of Bonnie Franklin. She was 69. In the mid ‘70s thru mid ‘80s she was the mom on ONE DAY AT A TIME. I had the pleasure of working with her on ALMOST PERFECT in the ‘90s and we remained friends. She also did a screenplay reading for me.

For whatever reason ONE DAY AT A TIME has fallen between the syndication cracks. You don’t see the reruns very often.

BENEDICT XVI GIVES HIS LAST WORDS AS POPE

POPE BENEDICT XVI'S FINAL 
PUBLIC WORDS AS PONTIFF

http://bostonherald.com - Benedict XVI's time as pope came to a historic end Thursday, as he became the first pontiff in six centuries to resign as leader of the world's Roman Catholics. Pope Benedict XVI delivered his final public words as pope on Thursday to well-wishers gathered at the papal vacation retreat in Castel Gandolfo south of Rome. Here is the translation of what he said, delivered to a roaring crowd: 
"Dear friends, I'm happy to be with you, surrounded by the beauty of creation and your well-wishes which do me such good. Thank you for your friendship, and your affection. You know this day is different for me than the preceding ones: I am no longer the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, or I will be until 8 o'clock this evening and then no more. I am simply a pilgrim beginning the last leg of his pilgrimage on this Earth."

"But I would still ... thank you ... I would still with my heart, with my love, with my prayers, with my reflection, and with all my inner strength, like to work for the common good and the good of the church and of humanity. I feel very supported by your sympathy. Let us go forward with the Lord for the good of the church and the world. Thank you, I now wholeheartedly impart my blessing. Blessed be God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Good night! Thank you all!"
After he was bid goodbye by a line of cardinals, Benedict waved to the crowd of onlookers also gathered for the event. He was then ushered into a waiting black car and driven to the Vatican helipad, where he boarded a helicopter for Castel Gandolfo. As the helicopter took off into the sunny Roman sky, Benedict tweeted thanks to his followers. He will also continue to wear the white cassock associated with the papacy, however, he has said he plans to live out his retirement “hidden from the world.”

In a final public address as Pope, Benedict XVI thanked his followers for the last time Thursday, saying that he was starting the final stage of his life as “simply a pilgrim.” Benedict’s resignation took effect at 8 p.m. local time, making him the first Pope in six centuries to resign from the papacy. The pontiff’s last day was filled with emotion as Catholic followers gathered both in the Vatican and in Castel Gandolfo - the town of Benedict’s summer residence - to catch a glimpse of the 85-year-old. During his retirement, Benedict will be called “emeritus Pope” and “Your Holiness.” Vedic culture is not an organized religion like Christianity. It has no Pope. Despite Hinduism has no a rigid hierarchy, people do recognize and follow spiritual authorities or gurus.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Hinduism is not based solely on one personality or teacher. It is not like Catholicism which has one pope who is said to be the sole authority over all other Catholics who must obey the dictates of this one man. Hinduism can and does accept the teachings of numerous spiritual guides. .. Hinduism is not subject to an institution or a pope who alone claims to be in touch with God and knows the ultimate truth, upon whom we all are dependent, and who can dictate restrictions as he likes. In fact, any spiritual teacher is only as good to the degree in which he is at being a representation of God's love for us, or at being a transparent medium for the spiritual instructions of God and the previous acharyas or authorities.

Dr Stephen Knapp (Śrīpad Nandanandana dasa) :
"Why Be A Hindu"
"The Advantages of the Vedic Path"
http://www.stephen-knapp.com/why_be_a_hindu_booklet.htm
http://www.stephen-knapp.com/books_by_stephen_knapp.htm

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
http://www.vedicviews-worldnews.blogspot.com.ar/

BSNYC Friday Ham Radio Enthusiast Hour!

Hey!  Remember how I said I'll be master-of-ceremonying this bikey thing in Williamsburg next week? Well I will and it's going to be so awesome, you should totally come!  It's going to be exactly like an episode of "Girls," only more bikey, and I won't get naked as much as the "Girls" girl does.  In the meantime, here's a video about one of the builders:


Handcrafted presented by Jack Daniel's... by TheLMagazine
you'll see hard-hitting news.

One lucky person will win that bike, and if you slip me a large-denomination bill (Euro or Canadian, no US$ please) I'll see if I can arrange it so that it's you.  Just to warn you though, I am going to get so girl drink drunk at this thing--obviously not on straight Jack Daniel's because eeew, but I'm definitely going to have at least five "Sex On My Faces."  Or is it "Sexes On My Face?"  I want to be grammatically correct before throwing them all up the following morning.

In other news, there is considerable hand-wringing in the cycling press about how to make the sport interesting to Americans again now that Lancey Pants is gone:

Americans are keyed to tune into series, little vignettes that each have the structure of a stage play: start, middle, and finish. And we decided somehow that the very best way to showcase our sport was to show them every minute, regardless of whether anything is happening or not. It was different when we had rock star Lance Armstrong with the celebrity few other sports had, who was articulate, brash, charismatic, and doing uber-confident “superman” feats. He was our spectacle and we enjoyed extraordinary attention during those fertile years. He even dated a real rock star with a no. 1 song. There were no boundaries to his media and mass appeal.


So, with Armstrong towing us along, we gathered some fans from the fringe. But he was the center of attention and there was a compelling reason for them to endure the hours of non-activity just to track this can’t-look-away athlete in progress. The crash on Luz Ardiden. The Beloki-field incident near Gap. It was Jesse Owens times a thousand — Lance defeated the dusty Euros at their own game. He embodied the new America: strong, broad-shouldered, aggressive, and confident. Compelling. Americans love a great story.


So what's the answer?  Possibly less live race coverage and more pre-packaged post-race programming:

Packaged: Not live, where the story is told by the outcome, extrapolating the best of the best material that matters from the inside-out, expanding our dramatic revelations beyond just the road, and exploiting our real-world racing dramas that are rarely seen. All this carefully bound and presented into a freshly baked genre for us: reality sports drama TV. Cycling is made for just this treatment!

Right, whatever.  Let's face it: the sport is finished in this country, and the sooner everybody acknowledges there's no way to jump-start the American public into giving a crap about professional cycling again the better.  Sure, we're a nation of idiots, but we're not so stupid that some creative editing is going to trick football and baseball fans into staying in their well-worn sofa ass grooves to watch bike racing too. As the op-ed points out, the "U.S. carries more cycling hours than any country in the world," so finally dropping all this coverage will free up precious airtime for more culturally relevant sporting fare such as rodeo riding and Babe Winkelman blasting the fuck out of animals, and the handful of American Freds who do actually want to watch this stuff can just see it on the Internet or at the Rapha café.

Or else they can read about it on some stupid bike blog, as the case may be.

And now, I'm pleased to present you with a quiz.  As always, study the item, think, and click on your answer.  If you're right then HOLY FUCKING SHIT!, and if you're wrong you'll see the last chance we have to make cycling interesting to Americans.

Thanks very much for reading, ride safe, and may Lob bless you and anoint you in sticky green roe.


--Wildcat Rock Machine

1) Number four on the list of 30 reasons to take up cycling is that it helps you make number two.

--True
--False
'

2) Behold!  It's the:

--Helmet of Justice
--Helment of Righteousness
--Hairnet of Smugness
--Hardhat of Despair

3) This iPhone case is made using:

--Carbon fiber
--Crabon fiber
--Cabron fiber
--"Cuting edge crab-on fire canstruction"

4) "Cat 3 Comics" is like "Yehuda Moon" for Freds.

--True
--False

5) "Yehuda Moon" is like cartoon porn for retrogrouches.

--True
--False

(Fixie conversions: the pegging your pants of the aughts.)

6) Fixed-gear conversions are out; __________ conversions are in.

--Cyclocross
--650b
--Folding
--Prosthesis

(Having perfected the bicycle with the above, designers are now looking towards other configurations.)

7) Bicycles are out; ______________________ are in.

--Unicycles
--Quadcycles
--Chain-driven Segways
--Recumbent stunt tricycles

***Special Automotive Industry Marketing-Themed Bonus Question***

("Don't look at me, I don't even own one.")

In an effort to capture what they see as the "hipster" market, auto makers are now equipping cars with:

--Folding bikes
--Fixies
--In-dash turntables
--Old-timey shaving kits

Creator/deserters

Ready for some Friday Questions? 

Gazzoo starts us off:

For decades I’ve been convinced that
the first two episodes of the seventh season of M*A*S*H were meant to be
run in reverse order, can you confirm this? “Peace On Us” should have
been the premiere…the opening scenes imply BJ is actually growing his
moustache at that time, not to mention that the big storyline seems more
fit for a