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--- The Mich -igan Daily
Wednesday, 2009
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QUOTES OF THE WEEK
. . . ."Saving the New York Times
My administration is the .
only thing between you now ranks with saving Dar-
and the pitchforks." fur as a high-minded cause."
and hepthfrs
- BILL KELLER, executive editor of the New York
- BARACK OBAMA, president of the Times, speaking at the dedication of a new build-
United States, in a recently revealed con- . ing for The Stanford Daily about his surprise at the
versation that occurred during a meeting willingness of people to rally behind the Times in an
last week with the CEOs of the major bank- effort to keep it from going out of business. In his
ing institutions. Obama was responding to remarks at Stanford, Keller also compared opening
the issue of high executive pay. a new building for a newspaper to a "ribbon-cutting"
for "a new Pontiac dealership".
"Three bodies. Two heads."
- SHAHID IQBAL, deputy special general for operations at the Lahore Police Department in Paki-
stan, explaining what his police forces found when they arrived at a police academy in Lahore that
had been attacked by militants. Some officers believed that the militants were from Afghanistan
TALKING
POINTS
Three things you can talk about this week:
1. Rockets from North Korea
2. Japanese robots on the moon
3. Midwestern same-sex
marriages
And three things you can't:
1. Snow in April
2. The Minnesota Senate race
3. The Queen's new iPod
BY THE NUMBERS
Number of new people who enrolled to receive food stamps from
December to January
Numbers of states in which food stamp enrollment increased
in January
Number of people who are now receiving food stamps,
a record high
Source: Reuters
YOUTUBE
VIDEO OF
THE WEEK
Sheepish art
Perhaps one of art's greatest vir-
tues is that it can take many different
forms. If they so choose, artists can
use virtually anything as a subject
- even a herd of sheep with light-
emitting diodes, or LEDs, strapped to
their backs.
In this astonishing video, the
group the Baaa-studs (think about it)
presents what it calls "Extreme Shep-
herding" in a meadow in Wales. With
a motley crew that includes Emris
the "electrician" and Bernard the
"general," the Baaa-studs use sheep
to create works of art that will blow
your mind.
The video begins with a herd of
sheep frantically running across the
meadow, Prodded along by both dogs
and members of the Bgaa-studs, the
sheep then magically assemble in
their first work of art: an enormous
reproduction of a sheep, with white
sheep comprising its body and brown
sheep making up its legs and face.
When night comes, the Baaa-
studs break out the LEDs. Once they
are assembled, the sheep with LEDs
become a replica of a game of Pong.
They form the paddles, net, score-
board and, most impressively, the
actual ball. A herd of sheep moves
back and forth across the net, revers-
ing its direction upon being "hit" by
the sheep comprising the paddle.
This video may or may not be real.
Either way, it's pretty awesome.
- BRIAN TENGEL
See this and other
YouTube videos ofthe week at
voninherom/sser/michi'andaiv
THEME PARTY SUGGESTION
R.I.P., Motor City - Last week wasn't a good one
for Detroit. Obama warned GM and Chrysler about
bankruptcy, and both of Detroit's big daily papers
reduced the number of days they publish a full
paper. In this crisis, you need to pay homage to a
moribund Detroit. So, gather your friends and drive
to American Coney Island, where you can enjoy
delicious coneys and fries while reminiscing about
the Motor City. Let's hope it won't be your last trip.
Throwing this party? Let us know. TheStotement@umich.edu
STUDY OF THE WEEK
Children of older fathers perform worse on IQ tests
Children of older fathers don't perform as well as those of younger
fathers on intelligence tests taken during early childhood, according
to a study published in the online journal PLoS Medicine by a group
of Australian researchers led by Dr. John J. McGrath of Queensland
Brain Institute in Brisbane.
In the study, the researchers assessed data from intelligence tests
of 33,437 children who were born in the United States between 1959
and 1965. The children had taken cognitive tests at 8 months old, 4
years old and 7 years old. The tests included exercises in thinking and
reasoning, memory, comprehension and speaking and reading. In the
study, fathers were ages 14 to 66 and mothers were 12 to 48.
The study found that children with fathers who were 50 years old
performed worse than children whose fathers were 20on almost every
single test, regardless of the mother's age. But children with older
mothers usually performed better on the tests, the study concluded.
- BRIAN TENGEL