Truth in advertising?

Tonight for dinner we had the stuffed flounder pictured below. I just had to share what I thought was amusing.

The front of the package says "Proudly Made in the USA" (I know it's a little blurry, but I did the best I could).

Then when you turn the package over, you get the punchline, so to speak.

It says "Product of China, Further Processed in USA." Somehow that just doesn't seem like something that should be allowed to bill itself as "Made in the USA". What do you think?

Kurt Vonnegut dies at 84

Via WaPo - Kurt Vonnegut Dies at 84

Kurt Vonnegut, the satirical novelist who captured the absurdity of war and questioned the advances of science in darkly humorous works such as "Slaughterhouse-Five" and "Cat's Cradle," died Wednesday. He was 84.

Vonnegut, who often marveled that he had lived so long despite his lifelong smoking habit, had suffered brain injuries after a fall at his Manhattan home weeks ago, said his wife, photographer Jill Krementz.

My he rest in peace. The article also includes some interesting facts about his life and traumas, including being a held as a POW in WWII during the fire-bombing of Dresden.

The article also includes a quote from Vonnegut that I found particularly striking:

"We probably could have saved ourselves, but we were too damned lazy to try very hard... and too damn cheap," he once suggested carving into a wall on the Grand Canyon, as a message for flying-saucer creatures.

There is way too much truth in that statement.

Interesting quote of the day

Patriotism is often an arbitrary veneration of real estate above principles.
- George Jean Nathan

World's oldest woman dies at 115

BBC - World's oldest woman dies at 115

Julie Winnefred Bertrand was born 16 September 1891 in the Quebec mill town of Coaticook near the US border.

She was officially proclaimed the world's oldest woman, and the second oldest person, after the death of American Elizabeth Bolden in December.

She passed away quietly in her sleep in the retirement home where she had lived for the last 35 years, her nephew said.

She was older than my great-grandmother who was born in 1897 and passed away in 1986. The thing that I found most interesting about the story was this line:

She never married but she had suitors, said her niece Elaine Sauciere.

I was always impressed that my great-grandmother lived alone as a widow for 30 years, but for a woman of that generation to have lived her entire life without being married is impressive.

Nation-States

Today in the World Politics class I have been observing this semester, the professor talked about the difference between nations and states and what makes a nation-state. I was already familiar with the differentiation, and it reminded me of a discussion I had with my sister last week after Governor Schwarzenegger's inauguration speech. In the speech Schwarzenegger says:

And yet here in this nation-state of California, people from all over the world live in harmony. I call California a nation-state because of the diversity of our people, the power of our economy and the reach of our dream. Every race, every culture, every religion has been drawn to California.

When my sister told me what he said in the speech I responded with "that's ridiculous! It is obvious that the governor of California has no idea what a nation-state really is." (I then had to explain the difference to my sister.) Anyway, a state is a legally defined territory that has a government that is recognized by and can enter into diplomatic agreements with other states (there are other legal criteria, but I won't bore you with all the details.) A nation is defined by a homogeneous culture not a diversity of cultures as Schwarzenegger posits. A nation-state is when a state is made up of citizens that are all part of the same nation (as defined above). So technically speaking, California is neither a nation nor a state (in the international sense that the governor was alluding to) and is certainly not a nation-state. His argument simply illustrates his ignorance of terminology on the subject.

I would have mentioned that in class today if I were allowed to comment in class, but I'm not so I didn't.

I also would have said "not if it is held in place by art". I'll let the professor decide where that comment would have been interjected. :)