Today's Topics:
Cartoons as Education
those crazy Nutmeggers
weirdo letter from Bobby Fischer
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 92 14:29:36 -0400
From: Eric Haines <erich@eye.com>
Message-Id: <9210011829.AA08850@hemlock>
To: erich@hemlock.eye.com, subgenius@media-lab.media.mit.edu
Subject: Cartoons as Education
Cc: jaf@graphics.cornell.edu
excerpted from The New York Times, p. 1, September 30, 1992:
"Broadcasters, to Satisfy Law, Define Cartoons as Education"
Washington, Sept. 29 - It might seem like an ordinary television cartoon, but
the Saturday morning adventures of Bucky O'Hare, a rabbit in space who fights
alien toads with guns and lasers, is in fact "educational and informational".
At least that is what New Orleans television station WGNO told Federal
regulators as it documented its efforts to comply with the Children's
Television Act, a new Federal law that was intended to boost the number of
educational programs on television for children.
"Good doer Bucky fights off the evil toads from aboard his ship," the station
explained. "Issues of social consciousness and responsibility are central
themes of the program."
[...]
A new report ... says television stations ... are defining scores of familiar
cartoons and comedies as "educational." These include "The Jetsons," "GI Joe,"
reruns of "Leave It to Beaver" and "Super Mario Brothers," ...
A station in Durham, N.C., listed "Superboy," noting that the program "presents
GOOD as it triumphs over EVIL," the report says. An NBC affiliate in Detroit,
WDIV, listed "Super Mario Brothers," saying it taught children "Self-
-confidence."
[...]
... lessons in "Leave it to Beaver." "Eddie misunderstands Wally's help to his
girlfriend, Cindy, and confronts Wally with his fist," the station wrote in its
filing with regulators. "Communication and trust are shown in this episode."
------------------------------
Message-Id: <00416.2800795458.22344@instance.com>
Organization: Digitalk Professonial Services, Portland, Oregon
To: Sub-Genius List <subgenius@media-lab.media.mit.edu>
From: Tim O'Connor <toc@digitalk.com>
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 14:35:24 PST
Subject: those crazy Nutmeggers
>From UUPSI those crazy Nutmeggers
Date: 10/1/92 2:25 PM
From: Lisa MacIver
COURT COMPUTER SAYS ALL HARTFORD IS DEAD
HARTFORD, Sept. 29 (AP) -- Court officials have figured
out why Hartford residents were excluded from Federal
grand jury pools over the past three years: The computer
that selected names thought everyone in the city was
dead.
Federal District Court workers discovered the computer
error while investigating why no Hartford residents had
been on lists of prospective grand jurors.
The city's names had been listed in the wrong place on
computer records, forcing the "d" at the end of "Hartford"
into the column used to describe the status of prospective
jurors. "D" stands for dead.
So every time the names of Hartford residents popped up
for jury duty, the computer noted the deaths and declined
to send them juror questionnaires, said Kevin Rowe, chief
Federal clerk.
The problem came to light in a lawsuit challenging the
racial makeup of the grand jury that indicted Luis Colon
Osario, a defendant in the $7.1 million robbery of a Wells
Fargo depot in West Hartford in 1983.
-- "A typical long haired half mad computer programmer on a typical computer keyboard with odd toys scattered liberally about."------------------------------
From: "Eric A. Haines" <erich@eye.com> Message-Id: <9210011933.AA09351@hemlock> Subject: weirdo letter from Bobby Fischer To: subgenius@media-lab.media.mit.edu Date: Thu, 1 Oct 92 15:33:29 EDT
Weirdness from Bobby Fischer, seen on the net. Note that Fischer believes he's still "The World Chess Champion" at this point, even though it's years after he won against Spassky and others have taken the title (but that's another long tale of paranoia and whatnot...).
Article: 13135 of rec.games.chess From: hwr@intercal.com (Hanon W. Russell) Newsgroups: rec.games.chess Subject: Fischer/Encyclopaedia Correspondence Date: 30 Sep 92 00:33:24 GMT Sender: chessnews@tssi.com Organization: Chessnews list (chessnews-request@tssi.com)
A reader has inquired whether the content of the correspondence exchanged between Bobby Fischer and the Encyclopaedia Judaica is available. There were two letters: One from Fischer and the reply thereto. Copies are in the Russell Collection. We reproduce both without any editing:
AN OPEN LETTER FROM: BOBBY FISCHER THE WORLD CHESS CHAMPION TO: ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA
P.O. Box 50307 Pasadena, CA 91105 June 28, 1984
The Editors Encyclopaedia Judaica Jerusalem The Macmillan Company 866 Third Avenue New York City, NY 10022
Gentlemen:
Knowing what I do about *Judaism,* [text between asterisks is underlined - HWR] I was naturally distressed to see that you have erroneously featured me as a *Jew* in *ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA.* Please do not make this mistake again in any future editions of your voluminous, pseudo-authoritative publication. *I am not today, nor have I ever been a Jew, and as a matter of fact, I am uncircumcised.*
I suggest rather than fraudulently misrepresenting me to be a Jew, and dishonestly abusing my name and reputation as a kind of advertising gimmick to improve the image of your religion (Judaism), you *try to promote your religion on its own merits -- if indeed it has any!*
In closing, I trust that I am not being unrealistically optimistic, in thanking you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter.
Truly yours,
/s/ Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer, The World Chess Champion
c: Keter Publishing House Jerusalem Ltd.
In response to this letter, the following was sent. The letter is on Keter Publishing House Jerusalem Ltd. letterhead:
Keter Publishing House Jerusalem Ltd.
Member of the Clal Group
Jerusalem, Givat Shaul B, Israel P.O.B. 7145, Zip Code 91071
Mr. Bobby Fischer P.O. Box 50307 Pasadena, CA 91105
Jerusalem, Sept. 24, 1984
Dear Mr. Fischer,
We are in receipt of your letter of June 28, 1984. We have taken note of your request and will act upon it in all future editions of our publication, the Encyclopaedia Judaica.
Sincerely yours,
/s/ Fern Seckbach
Fern Seckback
------------------------------
End of Subgenius Digest ******************************
