That Tastes Like Freedom

Oh, where to begin? I suppose with dogs is the best place. Stephen talked about the Westminster Kennel Club Show. For many years, Pedigree had been a sponsor but this year, the Club went with a different sponsor because they didn't like so much emphasis on shelter dogs. (If you click on Pedigree, you can see a cute dog and then some dogs with really nice smiles. If you click on different sponsor, you can read about the background on the switch in sponsors.)

And right after that, Stephen headed into another controversy, one that involved religion, politics and family planning. Perhaps you've heard a bit about this in the news recently. People want insurance coverage for birth control but some would say that goes against their religion. It's not right for government to be meddling in religion. (However, giving $2.9 billion dollars to the religion for charity is okie dokie.) I think the Catholic bishops don't want to take the Pill. I agree, they shouldn't be on the Pill. But most women have used contraception for family planning. This naturally led to Stephen giving a thorough explanation of concepts and methods to help viewers understand all the technical and ethical considerations of this issue. Ah, freedom!

In Tip of the Hat, Wag of the Finger, Stephen had a short segment about a wedding in Seattle and using cell phones while driving. While it was interesting, I was disappointed that he couldn't tie those two stories together. Surely he could have found common ground if only he had delved a little deeper into both stories.

His guest tonight was Bill Broad, Science Writer for New York Times. He's pretty darn good at writing stuff. He has won two Pulitzer Prizes and other awards. And he has written lots of books. The book that he and Stephen talked about tonight was, "The Science of Yoga." Yoga helps him relax. And while they could have discussed science for most of the interview, they tended to talk about other topics. But now that I think back on the whole show, except for the dog part, most of the stories were actually related in one way or another. I guess Stephen has good writers writing for the show.

In a break from tradition, Stephen had another guest on for the last five seconds of the show. That doesn't happen very often!

I'm Back and I Feel Like Such a Fool

I hinted in earlier post about weddings and the Queen and perhaps you might have thought I was going to England for the Royal Wedding to see Prince William get married to Catherine Middleton. So did I.

As you all probably learned in school, England is also called Great Britain or the British Empire. That's because even though she is a small island in the Atlantic Ocean, England built a vast empire all across the world for many years. Thus, you could call England an Empire Builder, could you not?

And so, I naturally assumed that if I bought a ticket on the Empire Builder, I would end up in the Empire Built by England. That's just such a no-brainer. But, I did not make it. Instead of going to England, the British Empire or Great Britain, I ended up on the west coast of the United States in Seattle. Apparently, Empire Builder is an Amtrak train that goes from Chicago, Illinois to Portland, Oregon or to Seattle, Washington. It does not go to England.

I was crushed, but perhaps it was all for the best. I am now finding out that you needed an actual invitation to the wedding. I did not have an invitation. I would have been out of luck. I feel like such a fool.