“Tufts University professor, [Felipe Fernandez-Armesto] who was arrested last Thursday and charged with disorderly conduct, contends he was assaulted without provocation for merely jaywalking across Courtland Street. But Officer Kevin Leonpacher insists he is no rogue cop and suggests perhaps the professor is a bit of a scofflaw.” -from 1/10/07 AJC story
As if Atlanta hasn’t gotten enough bad publicity in the past couple of years (courthouse shooter, runaway bride, Cynthia McKinney, et al) now we have Atlanta police taking down a 56 year old history professor in town for the AHA (American Historical Association) conference.
Now, granted, I’m sure Dr. Fernandez wasn’t the little angel he’s claiming to be, but still, the officer should have been able to tell that this guy wasn’t a threat. It just looks bad no matter how you cut it. On the other hand, Dr. Fernandez should have been smart enough to cross at a crosswalk.
After being released from prison Dr. Fernandez described his cell mates, in what is my “Pretentious Professor Quote of the Day” (PPQD), as: "extremely unfortunate members of the underclass."
Scorpions on a Plane!
“A scorpion stung David Sullivan on the back of his right leg, just below the knee, then continued up that leg and down the other, he believes, before getting him again in the shin.
It wasn't what he was expecting on a flight from Chicago to Vermont.” –from a 1/10/07 AP story
Okay, so I just included this so I could say “Scorpions on a Plane!” It is a bit strange, though. I love this quote: “The airlines tell you can't bring water or shampoo on a plane," Helena Sullivan [the wife] said. But the scorpion did make it aboard, she said.
Of course there is absolutely no connection between an insect making its way onboard and keeping passengers from carrying on shampoo, but what else are you going to say to the reporter?
Pillars of Creation Toppled by Stellar Blast
“They helped open the public's eyes to the wonders of space when they were first photographed in 1995, but a new study suggests the famous Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula might have already been toppled long ago, and that what the Hubble Space Telescope actually captured was their ghost image.” -from a 1/10/07 Space.com story
First of all, I love the title of the article (same as my title for this section). It sounds like a chapter title in a discount bin sci-fi novel, doesn’t it?
Second, this really is pretty cool. Most people know that space is so vast that it takes thousands of years for the light from stars to reach us. What this article is saying is that these pillars of dust photographed in this Hubble Telescope picture were actually destroyed by a supernova 6000 years ago. It’ll be another 1000 years before we see what it looked like after the explosion. Kind of boggles the mind, ey?
ok, i was there for this and i'm kind of sad i didn't get to see the beat down.
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