December 2009
Films that are NOT historically accurate can still... →
“If
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming...”
– Rudyard Kipling, born today in Bombay, India, in 1865
“Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep...”
– Carl Sagan
“A man was driving down the street, in a sweat, because he had an important...”
“The real index of civilization is when people are kinder than they need to be.”
– Louis de Berniere, British novelist (Captain Corelli’s Mandolin)
Have Yourself a Jewish Little Xmas! →
Old cell phones save lives. Donate yours to... →
“Those captivated by the cult of celebrity do not examine voting records or...”
– Chris Hedges, Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle.
Autumn of the Republic?
Did America slip into a semiliterate, polarized, pre-fascist state over the past decade or so, allowing greedy oligarchs and corporate elites to run the government? These books say “Yes!”
“At the time of the winter solstice, let reason prevail. There are no gods, no...”
– Freedom From Religion Foundation
What English Sounds Like
In this remarkable and fully rockin’ video, an Italian singer performs a rock piece whose lyrics are gibberish intended to sound like English.
Entitled “What English Sounds Like to Foreigners,” the video is meant to illustrate which English phonemes and syllables are easily heard by those who don’t understand English.
Natural peanut butter separates into 2 layers: A... →
“People with advantages are loath to believe that they just happen to be people...”
– C. Wright Mills
“The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do.”
– B. F. Skinner (1904-90)
The Heterosexual Agenda: Exposing the Myths (pdf) →
Copyright Free?
It’s nearly 2010.
If the 1790 copyright maximum term of 28 years were still in effect, everything that had been published by 1981 would be now be in the public domain — so the original Ultima and God Emperor of Dune would be available for remixing and mashing up.
If the 1909 copyright maximum term of 56 years (if renewed) were still in force, everything published by 1953 would now be in...
“If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in...”
– Aristotle
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where...”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
Highly productive paraplegic singer-songwriter...
Vic Chesnutt, a singer-songwriter of spare, idiosyncratic folk songs tinged with melancholy, who was discovered by Michael Stipe of REM fame, died Christmas Day in Athens, Ga., after taking an overdose of prescription muscle relaxants, a family spokesman said. He was only 45.
In recent interviews he contemplated the challenges he faced as a wheelchair-using paraplegic with inadequate health...
The Year in Pictures (New York Times) →