*--Quantum theory + Morgan Freeman + autotune = legit (and follow the embedded link for more). Also, this TED talk by Garrett Lisi on his "exceptionally simple" (read: "you only need a master's degree in mathematics to understand it") theory of everything is complicated but quite interesting.
*--The once and future Russian president Vladimir Putin is a man of action.
--Here's a fun game based on your own drawings.
--Whoops, look like The Onion went too far the other day....
*--What are those mainstays of pop songs and where do they come from?
--Awesome website to both waste time and learn new things. (For instance, Ivan [the tough 6'5" opponent in Rocky IV] is a real-life genius with an IQ of about 160 who speaks seven languages.)
--Another good website to check out, "for people who give a damn".
More to come. Enjoy!
Monday, October 3, 2011
I'm back :-)
Hey all. Sorry I haven't posted in awhile; I have a pile of interesting things, so I hope to get caught up soon!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Assorted links, vol. 67
--Al-Qaeda has released a new video tape supporting the Arab Spring.
*--Pediatricians called out Michele Bachmann for her statements on the HPV vaccine.
*--Looks like I'm not the only one living at home.
*--Mormon women's sex lives improved when they read romance novels, and Mormon missionaries were asked to stop proselytizing on buses.
--The PCUSA may divest themselves of Caterpillar, Motorola, and HP due to their various business practices with respect to the Israel/Palestine conflict.
--America (the magazine) compares the GOP to a cult.
--It would be wonderful to see ecumenical progress on the Catholic-Orthodox front.
--Oklahoma's ban on sharia law had its hearing in the Tenth Circuit Court.
--North Carolina is being sued by the ACLU for allowing pro-life license plates while denying pro-choice ones.
*--Pediatricians called out Michele Bachmann for her statements on the HPV vaccine.
*--Looks like I'm not the only one living at home.
*--Mormon women's sex lives improved when they read romance novels, and Mormon missionaries were asked to stop proselytizing on buses.
--The PCUSA may divest themselves of Caterpillar, Motorola, and HP due to their various business practices with respect to the Israel/Palestine conflict.
--America (the magazine) compares the GOP to a cult.
--It would be wonderful to see ecumenical progress on the Catholic-Orthodox front.
--Oklahoma's ban on sharia law had its hearing in the Tenth Circuit Court.
--North Carolina is being sued by the ACLU for allowing pro-life license plates while denying pro-choice ones.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
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.
--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.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Assorted links, vol. 65
--This infographic explains why we should be subsidizing solar rather than fossil fuels.
*--How do military operations get their code names?
--With so much shouting about Rowan not standing up to the "liberal" churches (or the "conservative" churches, depending on whom you ask), here's a nice outside perspective on his tenure as Archbishop of Canterbury.
--Shane Claiborne and Ben Cohen (of Ben and Jerry's) teamed up to protest militarism.
*--Religion at Burning Man.
--Iran inaugurated its nuclear program.
*--Can the disparate Palestinian groups unify, regardless of the outcome at the U.N.?
*--How do military operations get their code names?
--With so much shouting about Rowan not standing up to the "liberal" churches (or the "conservative" churches, depending on whom you ask), here's a nice outside perspective on his tenure as Archbishop of Canterbury.
--Shane Claiborne and Ben Cohen (of Ben and Jerry's) teamed up to protest militarism.
*--Religion at Burning Man.
--Iran inaugurated its nuclear program.
*--Can the disparate Palestinian groups unify, regardless of the outcome at the U.N.?
Assorted links, vol. 64 (fun edition)
--A breakdown of where people say "pop" vs. "soda" vs. "Coke".
*--The Kama Sutra is (perhaps unsurprisingly) the U.S.'s most downloaded book on Project Gutenberg.
--I remember reading some of these hard Encyclopedia Brown mysteries.
--What movies predict the future will be like.
--Championship breakdancing.
*--I want a glow-in-the-dark, AIDS-resistant cat...
*--...and also a palladium credit card.
*--The Kama Sutra is (perhaps unsurprisingly) the U.S.'s most downloaded book on Project Gutenberg.
--I remember reading some of these hard Encyclopedia Brown mysteries.
--What movies predict the future will be like.
--Championship breakdancing.
*--I want a glow-in-the-dark, AIDS-resistant cat...
*--...and also a palladium credit card.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
9/11 thoughts
I have been planning not to post about 9/11, since it seems to me
that all media has been single-mindedly focusing on it for awhile now.
But then I started to think of a few things, so lo and behold, a post,
with three sections: articles (neither the one-sided political
point-scoring ones nor the "where were you on 9/11/01" ones), thoughts
on "remembrance", and songs.
Articles: Though I have already previously posted some and I'm sure you have found some of your own, here are a couple more. This is perhaps the most incisive editorial about 9/11 I have yet read. This tells of the F-16 pilot ready to kamikaze her jet into flight 93. This tells of the astronaut who witnessed 9/11 from outer space. And this encyclopedia has most everything.
Remembrance: Though the word "remember" is nearly always contrasted with the word "forget", it can just as readily be contrasted with the word "dismember". To remember is to reconnect that which has been severed, to repair that which has been broken. The more Catholic-minded might consider Jesus' call to continue the Eucharist "in remembrance of me," effectively reconstituting his broken body in his Body, the unified Church (see further thoughts in this vein here and here). So in the midst of all the remembering (i.e., recollecting) 9/11, we ought to put at least as much effort in to remembering (i.e., restoring) what has been dismembered: faith in common humanity, peace, justice, trust in God's omnipotence, and love, to name only a few.
Music: A few pieces that might be worth a listen to commemorate the day. First, Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings", one of the most tragic pieces I have in my music collection. Second, John Tavener's haunting "Song for Athene", which was most famously performed at Princess Diana's funeral. Third, the hymn "Saint Patrick's Breastplate", binding virtues to oneself. And finally, John Adams' Pulitzer Prize-winning "On the Transmigration of Souls", written specifically to commemorate 9/11/01. Each of these pieces feel appropriate to me.
Articles: Though I have already previously posted some and I'm sure you have found some of your own, here are a couple more. This is perhaps the most incisive editorial about 9/11 I have yet read. This tells of the F-16 pilot ready to kamikaze her jet into flight 93. This tells of the astronaut who witnessed 9/11 from outer space. And this encyclopedia has most everything.
Remembrance: Though the word "remember" is nearly always contrasted with the word "forget", it can just as readily be contrasted with the word "dismember". To remember is to reconnect that which has been severed, to repair that which has been broken. The more Catholic-minded might consider Jesus' call to continue the Eucharist "in remembrance of me," effectively reconstituting his broken body in his Body, the unified Church (see further thoughts in this vein here and here). So in the midst of all the remembering (i.e., recollecting) 9/11, we ought to put at least as much effort in to remembering (i.e., restoring) what has been dismembered: faith in common humanity, peace, justice, trust in God's omnipotence, and love, to name only a few.
Music: A few pieces that might be worth a listen to commemorate the day. First, Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings", one of the most tragic pieces I have in my music collection. Second, John Tavener's haunting "Song for Athene", which was most famously performed at Princess Diana's funeral. Third, the hymn "Saint Patrick's Breastplate", binding virtues to oneself. And finally, John Adams' Pulitzer Prize-winning "On the Transmigration of Souls", written specifically to commemorate 9/11/01. Each of these pieces feel appropriate to me.
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.
--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.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Assorted links, vol. 62
*--Might Rowan Williams be stepping down as the Archbishop of Canterbury in the near-ish future?
--This website parodies fundamentalist Christianity, but some of their lampooning is so good that it took a Google search for me to determine whether the views are real. Until I read a handful of articles, I thought it was serious, and even afterwards I still wasn't positive. Thankfully, the Atlantic and the NY Times came to the rescue.
--An essay about teaching Islam in post-9/11 America.
*--A serious breach of security in Egypt: the military government allowed protestors to invade the Israeli embassy. Mark my words, this is the beginning of a very bad spiral.
--I found a young-earth creationist institute that has an associated school with (non-accredited) bachelor's and master's degrees....
*--And here's a round-up of everything useful online about the proposed Anglican Covenant: a book (which I want to buy), Anglican Communion guide, Living Church guide, No Anglican Covenant guide, Church Times guide, and Executive Council guide.
--This website parodies fundamentalist Christianity, but some of their lampooning is so good that it took a Google search for me to determine whether the views are real. Until I read a handful of articles, I thought it was serious, and even afterwards I still wasn't positive. Thankfully, the Atlantic and the NY Times came to the rescue.
--An essay about teaching Islam in post-9/11 America.
*--A serious breach of security in Egypt: the military government allowed protestors to invade the Israeli embassy. Mark my words, this is the beginning of a very bad spiral.
--I found a young-earth creationist institute that has an associated school with (non-accredited) bachelor's and master's degrees....
*--And here's a round-up of everything useful online about the proposed Anglican Covenant: a book (which I want to buy), Anglican Communion guide, Living Church guide, No Anglican Covenant guide, Church Times guide, and Executive Council guide.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Assorted links, vol. 61
*--(Alleged) temple prostitution, right here in Phoenix.
--Are you a hipster Christian?
--You can buy a Pope Benedict XVI teddy bear for a mere $325. Which I suppose is fine; Benedict does have a bear on his coat of arms, after all.
*--The anti-immigrant governor of New Mexico admits that her grandparents were undocumented.
--Some awesome nuns in Washington grabbed hoses to help fight a wildfire.
--An editorial on the intersection of patriotism and Christianity.
--Jan Brewer is dumb, again. This time, she is trying to take away benefits from domestic partners of same-sex employees, pretending that this will rescue the state from its budget crisis. But two courts in a row have now slapped this idiocy down.
--More on the "credible but unconfirmed" threat for the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
*--Rowan Williams reflects on 9/11 (don't forget, he was essentially right next door to the Twin Towers when they came down [cf. "Writing in the Dust"]).
--Are you a hipster Christian?
--You can buy a Pope Benedict XVI teddy bear for a mere $325. Which I suppose is fine; Benedict does have a bear on his coat of arms, after all.
*--The anti-immigrant governor of New Mexico admits that her grandparents were undocumented.
--Some awesome nuns in Washington grabbed hoses to help fight a wildfire.
--An editorial on the intersection of patriotism and Christianity.
--Jan Brewer is dumb, again. This time, she is trying to take away benefits from domestic partners of same-sex employees, pretending that this will rescue the state from its budget crisis. But two courts in a row have now slapped this idiocy down.
--More on the "credible but unconfirmed" threat for the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
*--Rowan Williams reflects on 9/11 (don't forget, he was essentially right next door to the Twin Towers when they came down [cf. "Writing in the Dust"]).
100th post :-)
Wow, this is my 100th blog post. When I first started blogging, I don't honestly think that I would have expected to make it this far, especially this fast. But I'm glad I have; it has been fun to write. What article(s) that have been posted have been your favorite? Are there topics that you want to see more postings about? Thanks for reading!
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