From a column in today's Badger Herald, one of two student newspapers here:

Quote: If a child really needs to be challenged by education, there's a good reason to wait until high school.

Honestly? Do people really believe this? I think reading this idiocy enrages me more than a year's worth of Sarah Palin quotes combined.

Full article here, and yes, the rest is that bad too: http://badgerherald.com/oped/2009/11/18/tag_not_a_game_madis.php

www.translationparty.com

It translates your input back and forth between English and Japanese over and over until it reaches "equilibrium" (i.e. stops changing). So I decided to start with some movie and TV taglines and quotes. Here's what it came up with:

I see dead people. (The Sixth Sense)
--> Please. Please. Release date is death.

In space no one can hear you scream. (Alien)
--> Scream can be heard in one single space.

To boldly go where no man has gone before (Star Trek)
--> In front of us, we need to move with either one of two single bold

Houston, we have a problem. (Apollo 13)
--> Houston, we have state and national issues.

Oh my God, they killed Kenny! (South Park)
--> Kenny has been killed for God!

Go ahead, make my day. (Sudden Impact)
--> News of the day, I must go in the future.

Love actually is all around us. (Love Actually)
--> To avoid the reality of love
(Favorite intermediate step: "Love is avoiding reality".)

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a d--n. (Gone with the Wind)
--> Frankly, my dear, I do, please contact us. Not granted.

We're not in Kansas anymore. (Wizard of Oz)
-->I am looking for a place under the Kansas Hayakawa.

Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me, aren't you? (The Graduate)
--> Mrs. Robinson and I try to run an attractive option?

Seen in Star Tribune comments today:

Quote: This terrible [health care] bill will never pass the Senate. It just barely made it through congress.

Of course, all this proves is that internet commenters tend to be stupid, which has been a known fact for a long time.

See also: http://xkcd.com/481/

My only comment on this will be to repost the following, seen on a friend's Facebook wall today:

Quote: One wonders how long it would have taken to ditch segregation today since nothing that any court or legislature decides seems to matter as long as you can get enough bigots to sign a petition.

Wow. What an amazing week in sports. Last weekend, Wisconsin opens the Big 10 season by knocking off Michigan State. Then Stanford beats Washington--which was just coming off an upset of USC. Meanwhile, the Twins finish the season on a tear. Now this weekend, the Badgers go to Minnesota and pull a small upset to make it 5-0 (!), and then Stanford beats UCLA for the first time in six years. Stanford, by the way, is now 3-0 in the Pac-10, and sitting in first place. Finally, the Twins continue their ridiculous performance, and a tiebreaker game is in the works on Tuesday.

I'd love to go to said tiebreaker, but unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to get (a) a ride to Minneapolis, (b) the day off from band, and (c) tickets.