December 2009
32 posts
In defense of Kindle
irreverend:
The cassette tape did not kill the recording industry. The VHS tape did not kill the movie industry. Video did not kill the radio star. And the Kindle will not kill the bookstore. - inthefade
Well said, Michele. In fact, I’d argue that the Kindle may save the bookstore.
One of the biggest blows to the publishing industry is that is has become so easy to buy used books online. My...
Watchmerlin:
Merry Christmas, you magnificent bastards.
Is Merlin the most wonderful man?
Eritrea's national soccer team seeks asylum in... →
Last weekend they all just sorta ditched their coach and went into hiding. Which is fair enough, Eritrea is suffering some tough times at the moment.
Zambia's rebel Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo... →
He’s a Moonie. How was he not defrocked ages ago?
Guinea's descent into chaos →
Powder keg.
Mumbai terror attack suspect withdraws confession. →
His alternate set of events are some Clancy/Flemming shit. Intriguing.
Giorgio Carbone, Elected Prince of Seborga, Dies... →
Sub umbra sede!
Atheism is about being proud to say "I don't know"
kurafire:
people saying (possibly unfounded) things about agnostics.
There are lots of ‘strong’ agnostics. Strong agnosticism is in opposition to any firm stance on the existence of the divine. And stands in contrast to ‘personal’ agnosticism; the personal agnostic only making a claim about their own ignorance. Strong agnostics come, like any group of people, in all...
David Foster Wallace Was Not Afraid →
fraidycats:
David Foster Wallace, in November 2007:
“In still other words, what if we chose to accept the fact that every few years, despite all reasonable precautions, some hundreds or thousands of us may die in the sort of ghastly terrorist attack that a democratic republic cannot 100-percent protect itself from without subverting the very principles that make it worth protecting?”
You...
On Selfishness (excerpts)
The excepts below come from Mike Lee’s sprawling (tl;dr) essay On Selfishness. I invite you to (re)acquaint yourself with the essay in it’s entirety. It does however touch on more than one topic, and so I’ve elected to except a couple bits that, given the last month’s kerfluffles, seem particularly relevant today.
(The italic emphasis in this excerpt are mine. Mike makes...
I could use just a little help.
I’m just tired and bored with myself.
Favrd. Died. →
Alas, stars on Twitter have become mere take-out menus hung on the doors of other restaurants.
There’s still lots of clever and funny to read every day, but finding it is no longer a challenge – you already follow your sources. Sites like this one now serve mainly as fuel for emotional up-fuckedness in the guise of a game.
Just an idea: next time you see something you like, write the person...
More 'unmarked graves found' in Kashmir →
“Agents who would have been willing to stab themselves with a needle laced with...”
– When the CIA tried its hand at magic
HLVS
Sra. Maria del Socorro Vicente Gonzalez died yesterday. Her son is a man I have much admired. Though I have met him, I’ve never heard his voice except in my dreams and in my head as read his words. I don’t pretend to know his pain now. I hope to put off being capable of direct empathy for a long time. But never the less, my heart goes out to him, to his family. Descanso en Paz, Madre...
I'm from California.
inthefade:
doublejack:
We’re, like, scientifically proven to have the least accented English of any region in the world, dude.
Todd has been claiming since I know him that he has no accent because Californians don’t have accents. But he’s been here three years and people say to him all the time “You’re not from here, are you? California?” One guy even pinned it down to Northern California.
...
“The first study, led by Charles Limb of the NIH and Johns Hopkins University,...”
– Lying and Creativity
Man throws shoe at Iraqi shoe-thrower →
Not sure this really needs comment
Somali privateers have set up a stock market and... →
Sup 18th century Europe.
A Friendly Chat About Whether 0.999… = 1 →
Better explained is a wonderful website. I’ve learned significantly more math, and the why’s and hows of that math from this blog, than I did from eight years of primary school three years of secondary, six years of undergrad, and three years of grad school. It has literally changed the way I think about life.
“In Spain, the dead are more alive than the dead of any other country in the...”
– Federico Garcia Lorca I say a prayer for Lorca every time I see him. Even in Bronze he has more life than everyone I know.