Assorted links, vol. 80

--A sobering editorial on the impact the next president could have on the Supreme Court.
--Speaking of the Supreme Court, it has become an occupying target.
--Speaking of occupying, who was Guy Fawkes and why do the protesters wear his mask?
*--A ballot initiative in Mississippi seeks to define any fertilized egg as a legal person.
--The Church of England met with News Corp. to discuss the phone hacking scandal.
--The world population is about to hit 7 billion.  How big is that?
*--Can "zombie Jesus" serve as a source for legitimate theological reflection?
*--I agree that the science of the future should be networked.

Assorted links, vol. 79

*--Chinese tweeters (or rather, sina-weibo-ers) won't be occupying Beijing anytime soon.
--Is Tim Tebow a Protestant saint?
--A list of 25 bible resources available online.
--Backwards world: might Justice Stevens be less liberal and Justice Thomas more liberal than we generally imagine?
*--NYPD apparently keeps files on those who change their names to or from "Arabic-sounding" names.
--Explanation of how the Citizens United decision harmed campaign finance laws.
--Peruse the oldest scientific journal.
*--Round-up of the status of laws targeting undocumented immigrants in various states.

Assorted links, vol. 75

*--Winter is growing closer, which can only mean one thing: time to break out the beard hats.
--It looks like robots have once again bested humans, this time at solving Rubik's cubes.
*--A very important independent study on climate change has just been released, proving (unsurprisingly) that it is, in fact, real.  Check it out, and be sure to follow the resources links to the time lapse video and two-page summary, at least.
*--A $1,000,000 prize was awarded to the team who created an oil spill cleaner-upper that works three times as well as the industry's state-of-the-art machines.
--On Republicans and the judiciary.
--The winner of the "Dance Your Ph.D." contest was announced -- go watch "Microstructure-Property relationships in Ti2448 components produced by Selective Laser Melting: A Love Story".
--A comparison of how the various iPhone cameras.
--And AntiSec strikes again, taking down the police this time.

Assorted links, vol. 72

--You can read entire Dead Sea Scrolls online.  This has to be the coolest online biblical studies tools I've seen in awhile.
--The writers of "Toy Story" are apparently working on a new film about ... Farmville?
--A helpful YouTube channel called "minutephysics" helps to give brief introductions to complicated physics ideas.
*--A virus attacked the computer of the U.S. drone fleet.
--IGN recently updated its list of the best Wii games.  What do you think of its choices?
*--Very interesting article on the behind-the-scenes workings that led to the birth of the state of Israel.
*--This story also has been bothering me for awhile now (it isn't very new...).  Should guns legally be allowed in churches?  That question is actually far less important to me than the question of the theological rationale of why anyone would need to bring a gun to church.  Of what is he or she afraid that God can't fix but a gun can?

Assorted links, vol. 71

*--A Swedish poet won the Nobel Prize in literature (read English translation of two of his poems here and here), the discoverers of dark energy won in science, one of the three winners of the prize in medicine died just before the award, and three women shared the peace prize for their nonviolent work advancing women's equality.
--An amazing story about the mother of the man who killed or wounded 10 Amish schoolchildren.
--America on why the Catholic Church should let girls be altar servers (and priests, too).
--Should have posted this awhile ago, but here is a Q&A on the Palestinian statehood bid.
--A Tennessee pastor asked his deacons to beat his gay son and stood by as they did.  So sad.
*--A.S. Haley has written a useful Q&A about the legal wranglings in the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina.
*--How can you get recognized by the Royal Astronomical Society without being a Ph.D.-level astronomer?  By playing Planet Hunters, of course!  (See also: FoldIt.)

Assorted links, vol. 66 (video game edition)

--Even though it's not coming out soon, at least Persona 5 is eventually coming out.  Now if only I we knew more about Kingdom Hearts 3....  And on which system(s) will these be?
--Check out the evolution of video game graphics from 1991-2011.
--One person's thoughts on the 10 hardest Mario levels ever (though, to be fair, this was pre-Galaxy 2, which had some insane ones -- Grandmaster Galaxy, anyone?).
*--Have you heard of cosplay?  Some of the costumes are so insane -- check out Cloud, Sephiroth, Zelda, Rikku, Prince of Persia, Midna, Jessie (from Team Rocket), Sora, and a Persona 4 group.
*--NPR talks video game music.
*--And a paopu fruit drink, keychain, and crocheted pillow.

Assorted links, vol. 63

*--Who might be the next dictatorial coconut to fall?
--SlutWalk invades Morocco.
*--This awesome website keeps you up-to-date on movements going on throughout the world.
*--I've been reading several exciting things about the potential for an American Autumn.  The one that I am most interested in seeing is Occupy Wall Street, scheduled for 9/17 (more here and here).  Anonymous will be there.
--If Rowan Williams were to return to academia, here's how his replacement would be selected.
--People in Iran need our voices to achieve equal access to education.  (Also, is Dwight Schrute narrating this?)
--Bishop Walter Righter, tried for heresy in The Episcopal Church, just died.

Hacktivism

I am getting more interesting in the idea of hacktivism and the controversies surrounding it.  Before you ask, no, I haven't done any hacking or illegal computing of any kind.  As you may know from news reports, the two big-name groups are Anonymous and (the now-disbanded) LulzSec, who have done some work together under Operation AntiSec.  It seems to me that the attacks they carry out are not legal (see here, here, and, most fully, here), though I am often sympathetic to their rationales.  Using a variety of attacks, they have hit Sony (protesting the arrest of someone who had hacked them), MasterCard and PayPal (protesting their severing ties with WikiLeaks), and Arizona (protesting SB1070), among many others.  Their DDoS attacks use Low-Orbit Ion Cannon to attack other sites.  They have worried about being caught, and the eventual arrest of an alleged member after LulzSec called it quits led rapper Moses to pen this song.  And joining is easy.  But be warned: others will want to take you down of you get too involved.

Assorted links, vol. 60 (Miller-McCune edition)

*--Breastfeeding mothers may be more aggressive than non-mothers or those mothers who do not breastfeed.
--Women's "gaydar" effectiveness may depend on where their are in their menstrual cycle.
--This idea of "predictive policing" reminds me of "Minority Report".
--Babies prefer Picasso to Monet.
*--Demining sounds like amazing and heroic work.
*--What is the extent of cigarette companies' free speech rights?
--An article on the importance of documenting endangered languages.
--Could we be seeing eco-driving in the near future?

Assorted links, vol. 59

*--A very eye-opening article about the FBI's use of sting operations against Muslims who they fear might some day become terrorists.
--A nerdy but moderately funny web comic.
--The U.S. is apparently facing a "credible but unconfirmed" terror threat for the tenth anniversary of 9/11.
*--New polling data about beliefs in global warming by political affiliation.
--Here's how liberals, neocons, and libertarians are reflecting on the anniversary of 9/11, all in one place.
*--And a 3-dimensional printer, which is pretty awesome.

Assorted links, vol. 58

--A man accused a woman of stalking him after she called him 65,000 times in one year.
*--Fascinating article arguing that "in red America, families form adults; in blue America, adults form families".
*--GOP debate mini-roundup:  Fox News thinks either Perry or Romney won (apparently); MSNBC thinks it was Paul or, if you discount that verdict citing his techno-savvy fan base, Romney.  Huntsman wants the GOP to stop being anti-science, and Perry likened his (non-)scientific views to those of Galileo.  Perry also received applause for executing more than 200 people (including one who was likely innocent).
*--Virginia's political maneuvering about the health care law hit the wall today, as the federal court of appeals declared that the state can't pass a law that contradicts a federal mandate and then use that contradiction to sue.  Duh: any U.S. history student who studied McCulloch v. Maryland could tell you that federal laws trump state laws.  Here are the Washington Post's and Fox News's takes on the ruling.
--A new Australopithecus fossil may tell us more about human evolution.
--Google bought Zagat.

Assorted links, vol. 55

--An article about Jon Huntsman's work with and knowledge of China.
--Seven and a half years ago, the fastest super computer could perform 35.9 trillion operations per second.  Today, the fastest supercomputer can perform 8162 trillion (that's 8.162 quadrillion) operations per second.  This interesting Wikipedia article gives some idea of how these staggering numbers are calculated.
--Another book to add to the ever-growing list of defenses of hell against the likes of Rob Bell.
*--A new novel frames some of the questions about Islam in the minds of Americans since 9/11.  Sounds like it's definitely worth a look.
--Relevant Magazine talks abstinence, and also Owl City.
*--Really good article on a display of 2nd/3rd century Buddhist art that is now on display in New York.
*--A Roman Catholic priest doubles as an official at the U.S. Open.

Assorted links, vol. 54

*--A new website allows Arabs, Muslims, and Sikhs to tell the stories of discrimination that they have faced since 9/11.
*--Today was the next in a long line of big court days in the Prop 8 case.  Here are takes on the day from The Advocate, Towleroad, and the LA Times.  A live blog of the hearing is here.
--The beginning of what ought to be an interesting week-long series of posts about marriage.
--Can the supercommittee work without the taint of lobbying special interests?
--Some of the challenges facing Afghanistan as the U.S. looks toward a military drawdown.
--Looks like some benefits may be returning to the domestic partners of gay and lesbian Arizona state employees.
*--Have you heard of Burning Man?  Here is one RD writer's take on it, here is a picture of the event taken from space, and here are copious photos of the event itself throughout the years (which contain some nudity -- fair warning).
--Is fashion going 3-D?

Assorted links, vol. 49

--Meet the man whose job it is to take down al-Qaeda.
*--Is a Cal State professor the leader of the infamous motorcycle gang Devils Diciples?
--Were Anonymous' DDoS attacks against PayPal and Mastercard out of bounds?
*--A vote on Palestinian statehood is expected at the U.N. general assembly later this month.  Israel is preparing to deal with the outcome, the EU seems tight-lipped about it, and U.S. opinion is divided (as you might stereotypically expect): liberals are more supportive of the proposal, while conservatives generally are against it.
--More on Marcus Borg and "speaking Christian".
*--Check out this crazy chart about our economic status, as well as the others below it on the same page.
--Thoughts about the entire Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), blogged.  Awesome.

Assorted links, vol. 46

[All good links this time, even though I can't star them all.  Check 'em all out.  :-)]

 --Graphene -- the new chemical structure that is the way of the future.
*--Here's the data that demonstrates why same-sex marriage is inevitable, as well as a breakdown of the data by religious affiliation.
--To help combat the obfuscation of good science, here are some sites that clearly lay out the facts about evolution and global warming.
*--Check out the Center for Affirming Theology -- good stuff!
*--I love that they referred to "The Challenge of Peace" in this article contrasting the costs of Iraq and Afghanistan against things like food stamps and Amtrak.
--Pacifism is good...
--...and "typing in tongues" is just weird (see also: #typingintongues).

Assorted links, vol. 45

*--What was Sarah Palin like behind the scenes?
--Who wants to read this book about fonts with me?
*--Wow, just wow.  The Pima County GOP is raffling off a Glock handgun as a fundraiser.  Yes, like the gun that was used to shoot Pima County congresswoman Gabby Giffords.  Wow.
--Two great ideas for social websites: SCVNGR (which I've used for awhile and enjoyed) and Hey, Neighbor! (which i just learned about, but seems really cool).  But both need more people to join them before they can really take off.  What do you think of them?
--The future of bananas appears to be somewhat uncertain.
*--Goodwin Liu was confirmed today as the California Supreme Court's newest justice.  Why does this matter?  Here are two reasons.
--And if only I weren't stuck in this postponed generation....

Assorted links, vol. 37

--Math concept of the day: sexy primes.
--As Steve Jobs retires as Apple's CEO, take a brief look back through his career at some of the many things on which he has patents.
--Do you know someone who is being abused?  This lengthy but worthwhile blog post is definitely worth reading to help understand him or her better.
*--Since 9/11, there have been a surprising number of people whose curiosity about Islam has led them to convert.
*--What will it mean that astronomy is entering the time domain?
--Here's a new blog that you should be reading if you are interested in global warming (which I also added to the blogroll).
--And have you heard of unschooling, which is basically child-directed education taken to the extreme?  What do you think about it?

Assorted links, vol. 36

*--This Orthodox rabbi is playing an odd matchmaker, matching up gay men with lesbian women.
--A new NatGeo documentary looks at child evangelists -- I hope it will come to Netflix!
*--Supreme Court aficionado Jeffrey Toobin writes a long but fascinating piece for the New Yorker about the Court's silent conservative, Clarence Thomas, and his wife.
--Also, check out the New Yorker's take on candidate du joir, Rick Perry.
--Moses' story is now a Facebook game.
--Are you up on the Christian sports scene?  Check out this story about the Charlotte Eagles.
--Word of the day: cryptomnesia.
*--And in case you didn't hear, the Virginia earthquake yesterday gave the National Cathedral a good shaking.  Here is the link to the section of the Cathedral's page where they are updating the public on their status.

Assorted links, vol. 31 (foreign policy edition)

[Introduction: All five of these (rather lengthy) links come from Foreign Policy magazine, and all are definitely worth the time.  Check out this well-written and informative news source if you aren't already familiar with it!]

*--Will the South China Sea be the battleground of the 21st century?
*--Where are all the radical Islamist suicide bombers?
--Is it time to reign in the Pentagon for the sake of the economy and security of the U.S.?
--Can the U.S. move past beyond its history of massive debts?
--What does war look like through Hipstamatic lenses? (This is a five-part photojournalism piece, so don't miss the other four segments linked within this first article.)

Enjoy!

Personal blog note

Just today, the blog hit five hundred page views!  I know that in the grand scheme of things, five hundred isn't all that many, and I know that numerous of these are probably my own, but there have also been hits from about fifteen countries, so I think that's pretty cool.  If you are reading this, then thanks for your support, and keep reading.  See you right back here after one thousand!  :-)