An article in the metro section of today's New York Times discusses the lives of the students at St. Thomas Choir School, "one of the few residential all-boy chorister training schools in the country." The article reports that "for all their ties to Anglican tradition, the school's 41 students are still 21st-century children who read 'Lord of the Flies,' study fluid dynamics, work on computers and, as everywhere, tend toward high spirits."
"Lord of the Flies" was published in 1954. Archimedes, a pioneer in the study of fluid dynamics, is thought to have lived from 298 to 212 BCE. This is evidence that these are "21st-century children"?
Wrong Spelling: What is it with the New York Times that it can't spell names correctly? The Times today reprints an Associated Press dispatch about a Miami Herald report that "at least 445 Florida felons voted illegally on Nov. 7." The AP article quotes the Democratic Party chairman in Palm Beach County, "Monty Friedkin," reacting to the news. Mr. Friedkin in fact spells his first name Monte, with an "e," not a "y."
Late Again: Two of the stories on the front of the metro section of today's New York Times are old news to readers of the city's tabloids. One article discusses the possibility that Bill Clinton will run for mayor of New York City, a possibility that has already been thoroughly aired by the New York Post. Another article reports on plans for a new New York subway line to be known as the V train. That plan was reported earlier by the Daily News. The Times is generous enough to credit both tabloids for breaking the ground on these stories, but the situation sort of makes a reader wonder why the Times, a more prestigious paper with more resources, is so often a day or two behind the tabloids on local news stories.