Rise of custom babies sets off ethics alarms

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/from-sex-selection-to-surrogates-american-ivf-clinics-provide-services-outlawed-elsewhere/2018/12/29/0b596668-03c0-11e9-9122-82e98f91ee6f_story.html?utm_term=.c82f83551216

 

It can be somewhat surprising (and sometimes alarming) to find out what’s been happening in science when you haven’t been paying attention …

 

“[A fertility specialist in Encino] continued offering tests for gender and eye color … at his California clinic and in Mexico. Over the years, as his clientele grew, gender screening was quietly adopted by IVF clinics across the nation as a standard service.

 

“A survey published in March in the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics found that nearly 73 percent of U.S. fertility clinics offer gender selection. Of those, nearly 84 percent offer it to couples who do not have fertility problems but are considering [in vitro fertilization] solely to control the pregnancy’s outcome.”

A liberal’s response to nationalism

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/there-is-much-to-fear-about-nationalism-but-liberals-need-to-address-it-the-right-way/2018/12/30/2c6e8f24-0ab7-11e9-88e3-989a3e456820_story.html?utm_term=.ed9c414d95a6

 

Nice column by E.J. Dionne Jr. to start off the new year.

#200 Over & Done – Ryan Shaw (2007)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0QTR5dNTr0

 

Yes, this 3-year blog project, which I originally thought I would both start and end in 2016, is finally Over And Done. (No, it’s not a coincidence I saved this song for the end.) I’ve said plenty about Ryan Shaw elsewhere, so I won’t repeat it here. Suffice it to say that, if there really are parallel universes, this song was almost certainly a big hit in at least 90% of them.

 

Stay tuned – I plan to start my next musical effort next month, and (somewhat) confidently expect to finish it by the end of 2019. Happy New Year to all!

#199 The White Collar Holler – Stan Rogers (1979)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsDkmVo2fg4

 

As far as I know, neither well-known Canadian folkie Stan Rogers nor his lesser-known colleague Nigel Russell (who wrote the song) ever spent a day wearing a white collar, much less working in IT. Nevertheless, this ode to office-based professionals really hits the spot, so much so that I made a point of playing it for the attendees at my Westat retirement party.

Which 2020 Candidates Won 2018?

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/12/24/democratic-2020-presidential-candidates-won-2018-223552

 

If you can stand it … a really early take on the Democratic side of things, by Bill Scher of Politico.

#198 Queen Of My Soul – Average White Band (1976)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVYbDhyoc8Q

 

Music, sweet music

You're the queen of my soul

 

Certainly a sentiment near and dear to my own heart.

 

AWB notched only two big hits: the #1 near-instrumental “Pick Up The Pieces” and the #10 follow-up “Cut The Cake”. (“Queen Of My Soul” topped out at #40.) Despite their modest commercial success, however, they maintain a loyal following, put on a great live show, and are well worth checking out, even if you find “Cut The Cake” to be really annoying.

#197 Giving Up On Love – Jerry Butler (1964)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDmdc6WNHCk

 

Jerry Butler is one of my all-time favorite singers, and the only reason he hasn’t appeared on this list earlier is that I couldn’t make up my mind about which of his many classics to go with. I can’t put it much better than the words that “pghpookie” posted to accompany this video:

 

“Soft, cool soul from the 'Iceman' Jerry Butler. Released in 1964, and included on the 'Need To Belong' album, this is one of Jerry's most overlooked ballads. It's short, sweet, and to the point. It's also beautiful. What a great interpreter of songs and one of our finest balladeers.”

#196 Where Or When – Dion & The Belmonts (1960)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfTZRpCUXc0

 

Doo-wop groups often recorded versions of songs from my parents’ day (often referred to as the “Great American Songbook”). Some of these were, shall we say, radically re-invented – see, for instance, the deconstruction of the Rodgers and Hart classic “Blue Moon” by the Marcels. Dion and crew, however, do a lovely, beautifully-harmonized rendition of this ballad, also written by Rodgers and Hart.

 

#195 My Ever-Changing Moods – The Style Council (1984)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQPPQZ95xTk

 

Shortly after disbanding The Jam, Paul Weller founded the Style Council, which had much more of a blue-eyed soul vibe while continuing with socially-conscious lyrics in much of its material. Like its predecessor, the band racked up numerous hits in England, but it also managed to have some modest success in the U.S., getting as high as #29 with this one and reaching #76 with follow-up release “You’re The Best Thing”.

#194 That’s Entertainment – The Jam (1981)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-H0uIH5HHQ

 

British “mod revival/punk rock” band The Jam was huge at home, but got limited airplay in the States and failed to dent the Hot 100 even once. At some point when the BMG Music Club still existed, I picked up their greatest-hits collection, based on two of their songs I had heard and liked: this one, and “A Town Called Malice”, which was featured prominently in the movie version of Billy Elliot. Quite frankly, none of the 17 other British hits on the CD did much for me, but these two still hold up. Both are catchy, but the largely acoustic “That’s Entertainment” has more coherent (as well as more intelligible) lyrics.