Odds & Sods

"Humpback [whale] songs are not like human language, but elements of language are seen in their songs. -- Ryuji Suzuki

"There are a few designers that are truly inventive and they look at the arts, music, and real people out there, trying to make something different. That is why there is a need in the art to invent new expressive materials, to make the body and the person wearing a garment more important than the Dolce&Gabbana outfit they wear." -- Francesca Rosella

"It's an interesting question as to whether we spent the Soviets into oblivion or ourselves into senselessness. What Reagan was really trying to do with all the military spending was to create a fence between conventional and nuclear war. Every year NATO exercises ended with the American commander calling for the use of tactical nuclear weapons, which appalled Reagan. So he said, "What do you need in order not to do that?" The military said, "Tens of billions more dollars every year." Reagan said, "Fine, whatever it takes." Consequently, the military got used to an enormous baseline for spending, enabling it to forego hard choices about what our technology strategy should be." -- John Arquilla

"[Ontario Premier] Dalton McGuinty is treating taxpayers' dollars like monopoly money. For $150,000 to be spent on this after Dalton McGuinty brought in the biggest tax increase in Ontario's history is inexcusable. The McGuinty government's spending is out of control - who knows what other boondoggles they have squirreled away in their upcoming budget?" -- an upset John Tory upon discovering that a researcher at Laurentian University received a $150,000 grant to study the sex life of flying squirrels. [I have two things to say to John Tory: 1) stop picking on this guy, and 2) who the hell are you to decide what scientists should study and what they should not?]