2013 stories 151 - 159 — A review of, among other things, my short story "The Future by Degrees", all from Seeds of Change.
The Lovely Mr. Gaiman — A despatch from Friday night's Clarion West party.
JayWake Registration Opens — File 770 covers the forthcoming terminal festivities.
I Just Can’t Process My Own Death — Ferrett Steinmetz with some serious thinking about mortality.
The Atlantic In Paris--Dispatch #1 — Ta-Nehisi Coats with an admirable meditation on privilege, luck and going to Paris with his family.
Epic Superhero Art in a Traditional Native American Style — (Thanks to
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corwynofamberPutnam County Sheriff's Office: 3 men towed, rode 600-lb. aluminum chicken — Three men were arrested Wednesday in Putnam County for stealing a 9-foot-tall chicken statue. (Via
danjiteZoologger: Hipster toad has weaponised moustache — Because headlines! (Via
threeoutsideAgriculture arose in many parts of the Fertile Crescent at once
Improving 3-D Printing by Copying Nature — Biomimicry could make the technology safer and better.
First look: Google Glass unboxing, setup, and first impressions — I would love to work with Google Glass, but even if I somehow got hold of it, unless they can be configured with prescription lenses, they're useless to me. I can't wear contacts, and I can't go without vision correction.
Astronomers remain puzzled by mysterious intergalactic radio bursts
Climate Scientist Michael Mann Sums Up the Witch Hunt Against Him — But the “enraging” part is still there—that duly-elected public officials would waste so much time, effort, and tax dollars on witch hunts like these is galling, amplified even more so by the import and stakes involved. If this were a real controversy I would enthusiastically support investigations; but the evidence is in, and it's clear these attacks are without merit and just politically driven. The GOP battlecry: "Millions for pointless political witch hunts to keep our white, male voters angry; not one cent for social services that might benefit likely Democratic voters!"
New Living Word removed from Louisiana Scholarship Program — Huh. Conservative Christians cheating the government on a wholesale basis. Guess those Commandments about theft and false witness don't apply when there's public money to be pocketed. It is obvious from their behavior and rhetoric that to many American Christians the Ten Commandments are not nearly so important as God's inviolate word on homosexuality, for example. No wonder people think us atheists can't have a moral compass. Not when we lack this kind of moral leadership.
Sound Familiar? — Can we think of some Americans who view secular, rational thinking as contrary to God’s Will? Who seem to be in an extended revolt against modernity? Who have a fixed, rigid notion of how society ought to operate, rooted deeply in an imagined Golden Age? Who want to utilize democratic processes to impose a system that brooks no compromise or “relativistic” adjustments to changing circumstances, but instead reflects an order dictated by natural and divine law, and the nation’s “true” character?
Gay Marriage Stirs Rebellion at Synagogue — Sadly, there are religious bigots everywhere. History is leaving them all behind.
Restrictive law could force most Texas abortion clinics to close — Ask any Republican about Obamacare, and they'll tell you, "Don't let the government come between me and my doctor." I'm so glad to see the Texas GOP is upholding this core conservative value.
For Islamists, Dire Lessons on Politics and Power
Venezuela’s Maduro: Unlike US Asylees, Snowden didn’t Blow anything Up, just said ‘This is not Right’
How the Pentagon Papers Came to Be Published by the Beacon Press, Told by Daniel Ellsberg and Others — Oh, how times have changed. (Via David Goldman.)
A Bad Dream — Charlie Stross on the politics of democracy in the contemporary UK. Fascinating.
QotD?: What have you overheard in Mayfair lately?
7/7/2013
Writing time yesterday: 0.0 hours (vacation)
Hours slept: 9.5 hours (solid)
Body movement: 0.0 hours (away from home)
Weight: n/a (away from home)
Number of FEMA troops on my block building mandatory gay marriage halls: 0
Currently reading: Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation: A 28-Day Program by Sharon Salzberg; Snuff by Terry Pratchett