“One Little Hour”






         For what is your life? It is even a vapour…

October 20, 2009

Greenland, Welfare Society, and Suicide

Filed under: Uncategorized — paulmatzko @ 9:38 am

Check out this article. This paragraph is particularly interesting:

Peter Bjerregaard from Denmark’s National Institute of Public Health has noted that while Greenland’s suicide problem began in 1970, almost all the deaths involved people born after 1950—the same year that Greenland began its transformation from remote colony to welfare state, as the Danes resettled residents to give them modern services and tuberculosis inoculations. Hicks, the Canadian researcher, said the correlation is present in other Inuit societies as well.

This is what you get when you too-rapidly transform communal norms, traditions, and institutions. Conservatives rejoice!

September 22, 2009

My Encounter with ACORN

Filed under: Uncategorized — paulmatzko @ 11:33 am

ACORN, an advocacy group for community organizers, has become a big news item recently. They are being investigated for financial fraud as well as filing fake voter registrations for Mickey Mouse and the roster of the Dallas Cowboys.

I actually encountered an ACORN registration worker during the last presidential campaign. A young, cheerful 20-something rang my door bell and asked if I had registered to vote. I had not since moving to Pennsylvania and so I filled out the form that he provided. While filling it out Jay, the ACORN guy, asked if I wanted to see change in American politics. Apparently my grunt signaled agreement so Jay asked who I was planning to vote for come November 2nd. I told him John McCain. He asked if I really wanted to support someone who wanted to leave American troops in Iraq for “a hundred years.” I noted that the immediate context of that quote changed McCain’s intended meaning significantly. Jay promptly shook my hand and said goodbye.

Fast forward two months to two weeks before November 2nd. I still have not received my registration card. So I register in person. A week later my card comes in the mail.

Perhaps my cynicism is misplaced, but I suspect that if I had said I was voting for Obama my registration might not have gotten lost. Just a suspicion.

June 21, 2009

Father’s Day

Filed under: Personal, Uncategorized — paulmatzko @ 5:43 pm
Tags:

For Father’s Day this year I thought I’d list several things I learned from my Dad:

1. All truth is God’s truth. My dad is an analytical chemist. (more…)

June 10, 2009

Defiance

Filed under: Uncategorized — paulmatzko @ 10:35 pm

Jess and I watched Defiance tonight. (more…)

May 29, 2009

Dictionary Definitions

Filed under: Uncategorized — paulmatzko @ 11:49 pm

Today I read an article on a humor website that poked fun at online, contributive encyclopedias by listing a number of bizarre wikipedia clones like “Conservapedia” and “Pagan Wiki.” [Parental Advisory: the article is frequently obscene.] Though the article was tongue-in-cheek, the impetus behind niche encyclopedias is quite fascinating. (more…)

December 10, 2008

O Death, Where is Thy Sting?

Filed under: Uncategorized — paulmatzko @ 12:58 am

Friends-Mourn-Jet-Crash-Victims.html

Dear Father,

I thank you for the grace you have given Dong Yun Yoon in his hour of need. May you comfort and encourage him as he undergoes a loss that I cannot even begin to comprehend. (more…)

November 21, 2008

I don’t think that’s what he meant…

Filed under: Uncategorized — paulmatzko @ 12:09 am

(more…)

November 4, 2008

A Policy Decision: Withholding a Vote From Obama

Filed under: Politics, Uncategorized — paulmatzko @ 11:26 am
Tags:

A friend recently posted the following note outlining Senator Obama’s stance on the issues. (more…)

August 31, 2008

Palin Signals Shift in Focus for McCain Campaign

Filed under: Politics, Uncategorized — paulmatzko @ 9:24 pm
Tags: , , , ,

In my last post I noted that one of Sarah Palin’s weaknesses as a vice presidential candidate was her lack of experience. Sure enough, Democratic operatives and journalists have made Palin + inexperience = risky choice the dominant storyline. Republicans are also worried that McCain has handicapped his strongest line of attack against Obama. (more…)

July 26, 2008

Fundamentalism in Science Fiction

When I was a kid I devoured science fiction. At the tender age of 7 or 8, my dad introduced me to his 1960s copies of Analog Science Fiction and Fact, a monthly magazine which published pure science fiction stories alongside actual scientific articles. To be honest I usually skipped over the hard science and dove into the worlds of Poul Anderson, Ben Bova, Robert Heinlein, Christopher Anvil, and of course Isaac Asimov. (more…)

Next Page »

Hosted by Edublogs.