Monthly Archives: October 2012

Are you butter off now?

Posted on October 27, 2012 by Mayo

“Are you butter off now? Deconstructing the butter bust of the President” D. Mayo

I thought the sand sculpture of the President was strange, but this unsalted butter bust of the President being wheeled around Chicago (under the banner of “Harvest”) seems downright creepy.

“If you see a yellow-ish sculpture of a man’s head rolling through the Loop Friday afternoon, your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you: It really is a bust of President Barack Obama made of butter.”

Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Butter-Bust-of-Obama-Takes-to-Chicago-Streets-175971941.html#ixzz2AWegVEhW

 “Though one would be right to say that artist Bob Kling is buttering up the President with his high-fat bust of his likeness, the act shouldn’t be considered an endorsement. Continue reading →

Categories: danger, rejected posts | Tags: , , | 3 Comments

Phil Faux

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Mayo

Why is faux finish rendering better than the real thing?  (to me at any rate) What makes trompe l’oeil (“deceive the eye”) so cool? Today, after more than a year of planning, the trompe-l’oeil mural we designed was installed.* For the past decade or so, interior decorating, wall-unit design,  and furnishing of our places have been the main outlets for my artistic interests; when we acquired the condo a couple years ago I felt the terra cotta carvings outside should be brought inside somehow, hence this project. Now, through trompe-l’oeil sleight of hand, the Beaux-Arts sculpture that graces the building’s façade now graces my walls. There’s even a faux volume of EGEK in a faux crevice above the statue’s head. Continue reading →

Categories: phil art/fashion, rejected posts | Tags: , , | 8 Comments

Msc Kvetch: Florida passes plan for racially-based academic goals

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Mayo

This would seem to be diametrically at odds with other stipulations to prohibit race-based standards. I take it the argument for adopting the plan is that it permits Florida to show the required % of proficient students (and thereby qualify for a waiver “from some provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act”), but can that be worth the negative implications that are bound to spillover into other areas?

The Florida State Board of Education passed a plan that sets goals for students in math and reading based upon their race. Continue reading →

Categories: Misc Kvetching | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Msc Kvetch: tsa retaliatory pat downs

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Mayo

I think it’s true. The TSA retaliates against travelers for disobedience, a “bad attitude” or for not showing sufficient deference, especially in certain big city airports. Having a bad attitude can just mean being “a female optout” to begin with, requiring someone (of the right sex) to come from afar to do the invasive pat down. Last time,although the person doing the pat down was a woman, they asked if it was ok for these two men to watch. TWO! Perhaps they were in training. They were intensely interested. I couldn’t see why these guys should be watching my pat down, but I figured I’d be further punished if I objected. I have never worn a dress during the era of scanners, but wonder how horrible that would be. I may try it. So far the worst I’ve done (aside from engage in futile arguing in Europe once when they wouldn’t let me opt out)  is bring copies of materials on the risks of the whole body scanners, leaving copies for others. Continue reading →

Categories: Misc Kvetching, rejected posts | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Stat on a Hot Tin Roof (statistical theater of the absurd reblog)

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Mayo

Statistical Theater of the Absurd: “Stat on a Hot Tin Roof”? (Rejected Post Feb 20, 2012)

Dear Reader: Not having been at this very long, I don’t know if it’s common for bloggers to collect a pile of rejected posts that one thinks better of before posting. Well, I began to generate such posts, and eventually created a blog within a blog (first on private). Some initially rejected posts were even rejected for the “rejected posts” blog, but most are here. It seems fitting to reblog my very first “rejected post” as my very first rejected post, particularly since we have recently discussed George Barnard.  Sincerely, D. G. Mayo

Originally posted on February 20, 2012 by Mayo Edit

Did you ever consider how some of the colorful exchanges among better-known names in statistical foundations could be the basis for high literary drama in the form of one-act plays (even if appreciated by only 3-7 people in the world)? (Think of the expressionist exchange between Bohr and Heisenberg in Michael Frayn’s play Copenhagen, except here there would be no attempt at all to popularize—only published quotes and closely remembered conversations would be included, with no attempt to create a “story line”.)  Somehow I didn’t think so. But rereading some of Savage’s high-flown praise of Birnbaum’s “breakthrough” argument (for the Likelihood Principle) today, I was swept into a “(statistical) theater of the absurd” mindset. Continue reading →

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