In which I am interviewed by Ann Wilkes
Paul Genesse reviews Steampunk — Is very complimentary of me.
Interrupting Gelastic Jew on trusting your process — She's talking about piano, but this applies very well to writing.
Deconstructing Melville — One drawing for every page of Moby Dick. (Snurched from Drawn!.)
Annals of linguistic prejudice — Interesting, rambling post from Language Log on dialect, culture and politics.
In Defense of Foxhole Atheists — Ah, Christianity. (Snurched from Scrivener's Error.)
?otD: Do you turn your face toward the rain?
12/19/2009 Body movement: 60 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 6.5 This morning's weigh-in: n/a (forgot) Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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To all my friends among the People, may your Hannukah be happy, prosperous and filled with light.
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| 2009-12-11 09:04 |
| [links] Link salad skids into another Friday |
| Public |
| art, cool, language, links, personal, politics, process, religion, science, weird, writing |
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Naming People After Gods — Language Log asks an interesting question. All kinds of resource in comments. Well worth the read for those of you who write characters with names.
The Belgian Red Cross — WWI poster art.
Can gerbils read maps? — Heh. This makes more sense than the headline suggests.
Making diesel from CO2 and sunlight — The future is here, again.
Swiss Islamophobia Betrays Enlightenment Ideals
?otD: Who turned down the thermostat?
12/11/2009 Body movement: n/a (not yet, 90 minute walk forthcoming) Hours slept: 9.0 This morning's weigh-in: 228.8 Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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| 2009-11-22 05:31 |
| [links] Link salad hears a high lonesome sound |
| Public |
| art, books, calendula, cool, links, personal, politics, process, religion, reviews, science, stories, videos, writing |
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A bit more on Interzone 225 — With novelette "Bone Island" by ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) calendula_witch and me.
Get Fuzzy on the perils of authorship (again)
The Extraordinary World of Ex Libris Art — (Via Dark Roasted Blend.)
Best Use of Exploitative Tactis — Drawn! with a very strange, short animation. Cool, and vaguely NSFW.
Cassini buzzes Enceladus once again — Mmm, photographic goodness.
Why do we hate? Academics seek answer in new field — (Via Freakonomics Blog.)
JFK nephew barred from communion: report — Mmm, I loves me some separation of Church and State. And what is it about religious people that makes them want to force the rest of society to abide by their particular beliefs?
?otD: Do you feel like you're king of the hill?
11/22/2009 Body movement: 120 minute suburban walk (about to depart) Hours slept: 6.25 This morning's weigh-in: n/a (not yet) Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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My largely complete 2009 bibliography, for all your gift giving, award nominating or reading completist needs [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ]
The Curious Threshold For Creativity — A new model of society suggests that we should spend no more than 50 percent of our time being creative. Hmm...
God, the Army, and PTSD — Is religion an obstacle to treatment? Tell me again why faith-based programs are such a good idea?
[Rhode Island Governor] Carcieri vetoes bill allowing partners to plan funerals — That's what I like to see, family values hitting teh gay where it hurts them the most. Hey, conservatives, are you especially proud of this one? This is exactly what you vote for, every time.
Save yourself! — Jihadism as a response to American anti-terror campaigns, and the value of protest. Whatever your politics, this is worth reading.
?otD: What is the name of Orion's dog, anyway?
11/16/2009 Body movement: 60 minute urban walk (San Francisco hills!) Hours slept: 6.25 This morning's weigh-in: 233.5 Currently reading: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
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| 2009-11-10 05:36 |
| [links] Link salad follows the example of the comic-paper idol |
| Public |
| books, cancer, cool, funny, green, health, healthcare, links, madness, personal, photos, politics, religion, reviews, science |
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The Dragon Page reviews Green [ Powell's | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Borders ] — (Thanks to brent_kellmer.)
A reader reacts to Madness of Flowers [ Powell's | Amazon ]
Jay Lake, Religion and a Benediction — Shlomi, on my cancer.
TWA Mechanics from Outer Space — Hilarious photo, ca. 1941.
Saturn After the Equinox — Another APOD image that will take your breath away.
1962 textbook, When You Marry — Check out the excerpted material on class differences in child rearing and sex. It's creepy.
SMBC on the perils of evolutionists — Heh.
Antihealthcare Reform Idiocy — Oh, wow. Money shot: "When I need health care, I pay for it out of pocket," he said, adding that he did not fear the possibility that an accident or illness would leave him with unaffordable bills. "I'm a Christian, so I'm not afraid of death," he said. Good luck with that.
?otD: How thick are you?
11/10/2009 Body movement: 90 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 6.0 This morning's weigh-in: 234.0 Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox
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| 2009-11-03 05:11 |
| [links] Link salad wakes up in its own bed for a change |
| Public |
| books, cars, cool, green, links, nature, personal, photos, religion, reviews, science, tech |
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Justine Musk on books — Including ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif) jeffvandermeer's Booklife, as well as Green [ Powell's | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Borders ]
Video: elaborate multi-camera rig elegantly captures giant redwood tree — If you've ever tried to photograph a tree, you'll really appreciate this. Plus the resulting image is very striking.
Cassini dances with Enceladus once again — Mmm, outer space.
Implantable Silicon-Silk Electronics — Biodegradable circuits could enable better neural interfaces and LED tattoos. The future is here, where shall it put its luggage?
Fully Autonomous Audi TTS to Race at Mad Pikes Peak Rally Circuit — And so it begins...
Faith, Science and the Flood — Strange Maps with some religious history. My favorite bit is the phrase "great Sea-Bosom".
?otD: How many pins can dance on the head of an angel?
11/3/2009 Body movement: 15 minutes of meditation and stretching, 30 minute stationary bicycle ride Hours slept: 6.25 This morning's weigh-in: 234.6 Currently reading: The Jade Man's Skin by Daniel Fox
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Illustrated Lord of the Flies — Wow.
B-24 Liberator with mascot
Christian Broadcasting Network Warns Against 'Demonic' Halloween Candy — Mmm, rational thought from the Christian Right.
… and the flag was still there — A photo of the US flag on the moon. Lunar landing denialists will cry foul, of course, but they're just as nuts as evolution denialists, climate change denialists and reflexive opponents of healthcare reform.
?otD: Is virtue its own reward?
10/30/2009 Body movement: 60 minute urban walk Hours slept: 6.0 This morning's weigh-in: n/a Currently reading: The Jade-Skinned Man by Daniel Fox
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I awoke this morning from a dream about a Hollywood cult that was planning to bring about the end of the world. They were Muralists, and worshipped Diego Rivera. Their plan was to ignite a nuclear war, thus immanentizing the eschaton. In the mean time, they were dropping broken clear glass into hotel swimming pools and similar such mischief. I'd infiltrated the cult in an attempt to stop them, but then found myself seduced by Muralism. As I exited the dream, we were all gathered to watch the suns rise over the cities of the world.
Anxiety, much?
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Vintage Trashy Psperback Covers — Mmm, mmm, love that art.
Beyond Darwin: The Future of Exoplanet Imaging — This is fascinating stuff.
The Open Space Movement — Exactly what the name says, and a cool idea. Quite curious to see where the implementation goes. (Thanks to LW.)
An Open Letter to Bill Maher on Vaccinations — Antivaxing isn't just wilful ignorance, like evolution denial, it's downright dangerous.
The Takeover — Ta-Nehisi Coates on Pat Buchanan embarrassing conservatives (and Americans everywhere) yet again.
"We've got a rep for that" — Republicans in Congress. Funny, or it would be if it weren't true. (Thanks to CEP.)
Fear Not: What does virtual rumor-mongering say about Christians? — Associated Baptist Press on conservative rumor mongering. Note the references to Fox News. I find this fascinating, because this is the Evangelical community talking to itself about some of the things I find most poisonous and wrong-headed about American Christians. (Via Talking Points Memo.)
?otD: Is that you there in the spotlight?
10/21/2009 Body movement: n/a (sick houseguest) Hours slept: 5.25 This morning's weigh-in: 233.2 Currently reading: Dragon in Chains by Daniel Fox
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My book is mine, not Google's — More on the banal evil of the rights grab that is the Google Books Settlement.
Why science fiction authors just can't win — More notes from the ghetto.
Undead Machinery — ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) deadmachinery with a very strange and spooky video of a pair of derelict steam locomotives being moved by rail.
Animals Survived Apocalypse by Burrowing — But can you burrow to survive the zombie apocalypse?
A double-ringed basin on Mercury — APOD with a very interesting photo, including also a link through to imaging and description of a similar feature on Earth.
The Conservative Bible project — More on reinterpreting the word of god. Um, yeah.
John Stewart schools Sean Hannity on history, ecology — The Klamath protests are such classic conservative bullshit. Farmers whose entire water supply only exists because of government intervention are protesting to keep the government's hands off their water supply. (Yes, I know it's more complex than that, but this is what the Klamath water use issue boils down to.) That's right up with there with "keep the government out of my Medicare" as a nonsensical conservative talking point.
?otD: So you say it's your birthday?
10/7/2009 Body movement: 10 minutes of stretching and meditatiom, 30 minutes on the stationary bike Hours slept: 5.5 This morning's weigh-in: 228.6 Currently reading: Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman
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A reader with capsule reviews of various books — Including a strong recommendation for Mainspring. [ Powell's | Amazon thb | Barnes & Noble | Borders | Audible ]
[ atelier coulhart ] — Steampunk art. (Via Dark Roasted Blend.)
9 Chickweed Lane on the mysteries of hot sex and language — Heh.
Doonesbury on calling Obama a Nazi
Does Economic Security Reduce Appeal of Religion? — Fascinating.
"of", "for", and "by" the people, sure — The Edge of the American West on Justice Scalia's comments on religion in public life. Again, I am baffled why any person of faith would want their religion to be state-sponsored. That which the state sponsors the state can likewise repress or remove.
?otD: What's the longest train you ever saw?
9/28/2009 Body movement: n/a (traveling) Hours slept: 5.5 This morning's weigh-in: 235.2 Currently reading: The Real Wizard of Oz by Rebecca Loncraine
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To Fly Free in Space — An awesome NASA APOD photo.
The McFarthest Place: 145 Mi to the Nearest Big Mac — Strange Maps with McDonald's distribution in the continental United States.
The Edge of the American West on theism, definite descriptions and error theory
Human Ancestors Conflicted on Monogamy
?otD: Five dimensions or seven?
9/27/2009 Body movement: 45 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 8.0 This morning's weigh-in: n/a (convention) Currently reading: The Real Wizard of Oz by Rebecca Loncraine
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| 2009-09-18 05:11 |
| [links] Link salad wakes up in a new day, promptly scratches the finish |
| Public |
| books, contest, culture, links, personal, politics, polls, publishing, religion, stories |
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Don't forget to vote in the Flash Fiction Open contest: [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ]
How Many Copies? — Andrew Wheeler dissects some rumored Kindle sales numbers.
GBS: Fairness Hearing Procedures — Scrivener's Error on some nuts and bolts procedural issues regarding the Google Books Settlements trial process.
Dover Books: 1945 — A New York bookstore of yore. I find this photo very inviting.
We Are Culture — Cheryl Morgan on science fiction as culture in the Islamic world.
So has anyone really been 'Islamified' against their will? — The insanity of British conservatism. Some remarkable parallels to USAnia here. (Via @zootcadillac.)
Time Magazine: the liberal bias of facts — How Time magazine reports the thoroughly documented conservative lies about 9-12 crowd size as if it were a competing set of valid opinions. Your liberal media, hard at work.
Teen birth rates highest in most religious states — Mmmm, family values.
mckitterick summarizes the 912 Tea Party Metro "scandal" — Once again, conservatives have bludgeoned irony to death and dropped its weighted corpse into a swimming pool full of flat Budweiser. You realize you guys just look like bigger and bigger idiots? Complaining that you had to use the private enterprise transportation system (cabs) because the underfunded public option (metro) which you oppose any support for was underresourced.
?otD: Is Friday really one of the Happy Days?
9/18/2009 Body movement: n/a (up late) Hours slept: 6.5 This morning's weigh-in: 232.4 Currently reading: The Real Wizard of Oz by Rebecca Loncraine
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| 2009-09-17 05:32 |
| [links] Link salad takes a right at the light, heads on until night |
| Public |
| audio, contest, culture, funny, interviews, links, personal, podcasts, politics, polls, publishing, religion, science, stories, weird |
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Don't forget to vote in the Flash Fiction Open contest: [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ]
Shaun Farrell comments on my recent podcast interview with Mur Lafferty
Google's Schmidt on Google Books settlement — Basically, "tough shit", is how I read this. (Via @LAGilman.)
20 most bizarre Craigslist adverts of all time
Centauri Dreams with more on light craft
Dreams of a Lunar Observatory — If you could build an observatory on the Moon, what would you look for? Cheese?
One, Two, Three, Many — Scrivener's Error asks some smart questions about electoral districting, does not supply answers.
Conservative Politics Disguised As Religion — Ah, the Presidential Prayer Team. Hey, conservative America, those religious convictions not so strong when you find yourself praying for a black man? Racism much?
?otD: Who made Go-Kart Mozart's weather charts, anyway?
9/16/2009 Body movement: 60 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 5.5 This morning's weigh-in: 231.8 Currently reading: The Real Wizard of Oz by Rebecca Loncraine
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| 2009-09-13 06:52 |
| [links] Link salad for a Sunday at home |
| Public |
| clockpunk, cool, funny, links, personal, politics, process, publishing, religion, reviews, science, tech, train |
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Genreville on the New York Times' condescending review of Lev Grossman's new book — jeffvandermeer with a similar, albeit lateral, take. And rosefox follows up with more funny review snark. Ah, to be a critic.
Where I Write — Sf/f authors in their creative spaces. (Via Dark Roasted Blend.)
Steampunk FAQ — Cherie Priest tells all. In case you were wondering.
Daily Kos on copyright — An interesting read if you're a content creator or a content consumer, either one. Ahem.
Non Sequitur on authors and rejection — Hahahahaha.
Get Fuzzy on the infinite monkey theory of authorship — Hahahah.
Wuppertal Schwebebahn — Anent yesterday's comment of mine, (As if there were early, successful monorails?), nojay sent this link to a 1901 monorail system still in operation in Wuppertal, Germany. Commenter Cora also sent the official Schwebebahn Web site.
Telegraphs Ran on Electric Air in Crazy 1859 Magnetic Storm — Crazy cool. (Thanks to danjite.)
Saving gods by making them even emptier of meaning — PZ Myers on the epistemologicization of religion. Fascinating, I should think even if you disagree thoroughly.
FreedomWorks Misquotes ABC News on Tea Bagger Turnout — Gollee. Conservatives, fudging numbers. No one could possibly imagine such a thing.
Wonkette with a particularly attractive 9-12 sign — Stay classy, conservative America. More seriously, I looked through the 9-12 Flickr set. A lot of the people were protesting Obama's debt. Which is pretty amazing, considering he inherited that entire debt from George W. Bush, whom these people presumably supported. Ah, the conservative mind works in mysterious ways.
Daily Kos on the murder of antiabortion activist James Pouillon — He was killed for holding a sign of protest, the chilling implication is clear: wave the 'wrong' sign or say the 'wrong' thing, and you might be next. That's terrorism, pure and simple, and this man's grieving family and friends are every bit as deserving of our nation's sympathy and condolences as the victims of Oklahoma City or the 911 attacks. What they said. In spades. Vehement disagreement is never a call for violence.
?otD: Is the man up in the tower enjoying the show?
9/13/2009 Body movement: 15 minutes of stretching and meditation, 90 minute suburban walk Hours slept: 5.5 This morning's weigh-in: 229.2 Currently reading: The Real Wizard of Oz by Rebecca Loncraine; The Other Lands by David Anthony Durham
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I've been thinking about the ongoing dialog on gay marriage elsewhere in my blog. In this, as in many other things, my perception of the conservative viewpoint is that it stems from a combination of lack of empathy and failure of imagination.
A question I would put to anyone opposed to gay marriage is this:
Do you really believe the government should be able to restrict the rights and liberties of a disfavored minority based on the strong, sincerely-held beliefs of a different, vocal minority? Every opponent of gay marriage belongs to a religion or a gender or a social class or an ethnic group potentially (or historically) subject to exactly that kind of discrimination. The very best guarantee of everyone's rights is a strong protection of everyone's rights. Any other road leads to madness, and oppression based on the next set of cultural and demographic shifts. To those who would argue we aren't taking away existing rights from our gay and lesbian fellow citizens, I would point out that female suffrage and the Civil Rights movement were subject to exactly the same argument. If you're a woman opposed to gay marriage, would you welcome a rollback in your own rights under the law by that logic? If you're an ethnic minority opposed to gay marriage, would you accept a revocation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 under that same argument? Like I said, lack of empathy and a failure of imagination. Because as soon as you make it possible, even reasonable, to restrict someone else's rights based on your preferences, you make it possible and reasonable to restrict your own rights based on someone else's preferences. Is that the society conservatives truly want to build?
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aliettedb mentions a Polish appearance for her, me and many other fine writers — In my case, "Tom Edison and His Telegraphic Harpoon", which is a short drawn from Original Destiny, Manifest Sin.
The Edge of the American West busts a cap on the concept of the "historical novel"
How I Got Out Of Writing An Essay On H.G. Well's The Time Machine. — Hahah. (Via Interrupting Gelastic Jew.)
APOD with the mighty rings of Saturn
The Singularity and the Fixed Point — The importance of engineering motivation into intelligence. Wow.
Centauri Dreams on advanced propulsion — Pay attention, you skiffy writers.
First Hot Ice Computer Created — A computer made entirely of sodium acetate, known as hot ice, solves mazes and other problems. Wow.
Physicists Discover A Magnet With Only One Pole — On Facebook, Alistair Mayer adds: "Turns out they're virtual or quasi particles that act like monopoles, not actual monopolar particles. Still cool, though."
Fire chief shot by cop in Ark. court over tickets — Ah, heartland values and gun rights, always a potent combination. (Thanks to seventorches.)
Conservatives Speak Out Against the Worldnutdaily — Huh. Some more of this and I might actually be able to respect conservatives again. The comments section, however, is a real swampland of crazy.
Parents demand to vet Barack Obama school speech over 'indoctrination' fury — Following in a tradition established by Presidents Reagan and Bush Sr, the speech will be broadcast live from a Virginia high school [...] "This is not civics education," Steve Russell, an Oklahoma state senator, said. "This is something you'd expect to see in North Korea or Saddam Hussein's Iraq." Yes, I certainly remember all the conservative protests when Reagan and Bush did this. Confidential to conservative America: Don't you people ever get tired of being angry cranks? (Via zootcadillac.)
Question of the Day — Ed Brayton asks: If you're convinced that any form of government-run or government-paid health care is a terrible, evil system that destroys liberty, takes away private choices, leads to rationing and early death and allows faceless bureaucrats to decide who lives and who dies -- all commonly heard arguments, I think you'll all agree -- shouldn't you also be in favor of eliminating the VA health care system entirely? After all, you wouldn't want to inflict such an evil system on our veterans, would you? Um, yeah. Hello? Conservative America? Anyone?
?otD: Where does the Jefferson Airplane land?
9/5/2009 Body movement: 60 minute urban walk (San Francisco hills!) Hours slept: 8.0 This morning's weigh-in: 228.5 Currently reading: The Real Wizard of Oz by Rebecca Loncraine; Acacia by David Anthony Durham
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In comments here, hkneale bestows the Clue Fairy on me, and takes me to task for being an antireligious hater. I am respectfully disagreeing, at length.
I fail to see how someone objecting to homosexuality due to their religious beliefs to be considered "unprincipled".
I think we are significantly misunderstanding each other, partly through my abbreviated choice of words. Let me try again.
First of all, I'm not a "hater". My belief in others' freedom of religion is as absolute as my belief in others' freedom of speech. As a staunch atheist, I could hardly think otherwise. To force people to deconvert is just as repugnant as to force them to convert, perhaps more so.
That being said, those very same freedoms guarantee that I am not required to agree with or obey your speech. Neither am I required to agree with or obey your religion.
As for religious commandments themselves, by definition, they are an Argument From Authority. This is certainly true in the Abrahamic religions, and so far as I know, it's true in most or all other world religions. The Argument From Authority is a logical fallacy in and of itself. Furthermore, religious commandments only apply within the framework of their religion. Just because they believe it, doesn't mean it's true.
This is not to say that many religious commandments don't have equivalent social principles. Exodus 20:13, "Thou shalt not kill", has a pretty broad application in any functional society. (As an aside, note the nuance that the original text, such as we understand it, could more accurately be translated as "Thou shalt not commit premediated murder", but the idea holds either way.)
On the other hand, many more religious commandments don't hold any water as social principles. Leviticus 11:12 states "Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you." (Likewise Deuteronomy 14:10.) Not eating shrimp doesn't have any application in a functional society, at least not one with decent refrigeration.
In other words, you can't base principled social policy on religious commandments. As a society, we don't even base religious policy on religious commandments. Otherwise all Jews and Christians would look and act like Orthodox Jews. Religious principles are selective, and in my opinion, quite necessarily so in order to ensure the long term survival of the religion over generations.
That is decidedly not the same thing as saying that persons of faith are not principled. Neither is it suggesting they shouldn't be permitted, or even encouraged, to state their beliefs, as you suggest I'm intending, further down in your comment.
The point I was trying to make is that we can't frame a social policy based on religious principles. Otherwise we'd all be subject to either majoritarianism, or the principle of maximum of offense. The evils of either of those options should be obvious.
Social policy gets framed based on cost-benefit analysis, moral considerations, and the social context. Our American political equivalent of religious commandments is the Constitution, and the body of legislation and case law which descends from it. Yes, those are Authority, but they're consensual authority established by our society, and malleable as our society changes.
A lot the people of my personal acquaintance who are against the practice of homosexuality (and therefore are standing against gay marriage) have reasons other than "God commanded it so." I know because I've asked them.
What are those reasons? As I said in my original post, I've seen no arguments that don't boil down to either antigay bigotry or religious commandment. What have you heard otherwise?
Would you respect them any more if they failed to stand firm by their principles? Probably not.
Not in the slightest. But neither do I think religious principles per se are a basis for framing social policy. If they were, we'd be a theocracy, and we all know how well that turns out.
When it comes to this whole gay marriage thing, I get much bemusement out of human behaviour. Those who openly support it are getting very hateful and malicious in their attitudes towards those on the fence, even when they are not normally hateful and malicious people. That's probably the last sort of attitude one should adopt.
You're implying it's hateful and malicious of me to stand against those who oppose secularism, equality under the law, and individual rights. I am almost certain I misunderstand you here, but let's be clear. I am quite capable of being deeply snarky about damned near anything (including myself), but I don't think I've ever been hateful and malicious about opposition to gay marriage. I simply think that such opposition is profoundly wrong headed and not grounded on the social and moral principles of our society. It is certainly in many cases grounded in the social and moral principles of individual religious belief, but those are not equivalent and do not apply within the framework of American constitutional democracy.
Don't be one of the haters.
Thankfully, I'm not.
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| 2009-08-29 06:18 |
| [links] Link salad for a quiet Saturday morning |
| Public |
| funny, healthcare, links, personal, politics, process, publishing, religion, science, tech, videos, writing |
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Twice Marooned — Art writing guru James Gurney on the virtues of returning to a piece at different points in one's career. I've done this myself, the results can be striking.
Language Log with lots of neepery on the Google Books settlement — Regular readers are aware that as a holder of commercially active copyrights (ie, my books and stories) I consider the Google Books settlement to be nothing more than rancid, institutionalized thievery, in direct contradiction to the company's famous "Don't be evil" rubric.
Cat Herders — A truly hilarious EDS ad. (Thanks to garyomaha.)
Treadmill — Ha ha ha ha. (Thanks to safewrite.)
Science Fiction and Interstellar Thinking — Centauri Dreams with a must-read essay on SF and futurism, including the new-to-me phrase, "future envy."
Bad Astronomy Blog with a great video on the Big Bang Theory — The real one, not the TV show.
Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Drugmakers Are Desperate to Know Why. — Money shot: "To remain dominant in the future," he told Forbes, "we need to dominate the central nervous system." Um, yeah. (From Wired, via Freakonomics.)
Why Smart People Do Stupid Things — Interesting stuff. (Snurched from the twitter feed of mattforsythe.)
Green Like Me: Living without a fridge, and other experiments in environmentalism. — The New Yorker on the real adventures of No Impact Man. (Thanks to willyumtx.)
Oregon Police Do NOT Taser Naked Man — Well, good for my adoptive state. (Thanks to lt260.)
Creationist idiocy at it's finest — Money shot: ...since about 60% of the US population believes the earth and universe is about 6,000 years old, textbooks will not be allowed to include religious statements like 'millions of years ago.' In case you need a laugh this Saturday morning. Repeat after me: "Just because you believe it, doesn't mean it's true."
?otD: Werewolf?
8/29/2009 Body movement: n/a (slept in to allow blistered foot to heal) Hours slept: 7.5 This morning's weigh-in: 229.8 Currently reading: The Real Wizard of Oz by Rebecca Loncraine; Acacia by David Anthony Durham
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