quote for the day

“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.’”

— Isaac Asimov

quote for the day

"I'm collecting my thoughts. I almost have a full set!!"

my friend Connie, on Facebook

friday video

This one's for my missus.

linkage

- The Future is now, in a New York blizzard.

- Another reason why Obama will be a one-term president: he doesnt lose in a good way. (via)

- This explains a lot about Republican policy. Fear-Mongering, it's not just for crowd control!

- Why small businesses fail. Note that "too many regulations" is not on the list. (via)

- Obama's penultimate path in his quest for "bipartisanship".

- sigh... the Dallas Library used to be this way, too.

- Oh, yeah, this'll raise the tone of debate in the country. (via)

- A Study of Assassins (no, this is not what you call a group of them).

- Second Amendment Solutions Solve Nothing. A list by Dr. Zaius.

a question for conservatives

If it's true that violent rhetoric in political debate doesnt lead to political violence, as y'all are insisting, then does that mean that you will be dropping your opposition to sex-ed classes?

a thought

I have this rather weird belief that intelligence arises out of complexity, which leads me to wonder about things like societies, and whole ecosystems, and whether their complexity leads to intelligence. Not, perhaps, an intelligence such as humans display, but some sort of awareness and ability to analyze situations and create outcomes. Which then leads me to wonder if there is perhaps a reason that America has been in decline since the eighties or so, beyond our own short-sighted stupidity. That perhaps America will no longer be in a position to "lead" the world before it is much too late to make a necessary change to preserve some semblance of normality for the planet and the life on it.

On that note, peak oil.

quote for the day

It’s certainly possible that we’ve all become too used to unrestrained rhetoric as a form of entertainment, and people like me live right in the middle of the guilt parabola there. Most all of us are grownups and can handle extreme argument, but clearly some people are not, and obviously I’m not just talking about Jared Loughner.

To see that, all you have to do is attend almost any family gathering, where once-loving relationships have been completely lost because of the overheated right-left culture war. If real family relationships are being lost to this kind of political debate, if someone on TV can reach into your living room and break up your family without knowing anything about you or even knowing that you exist, that tells us that this mechanized mass-media rhetoric has been almost unimaginably successful at dehumanizing whole classes of people.

Matt Taibbi

Via Gerry Canavan

saturday matinee

song for the day

Normally I'm not a song poster, but this one has really gotten under my skin, so I'm gonna put it out there for you.

a thought

Okay, so, Republicans and conservatives are always bitching that the government should be run more like a business, right? But have you ever worked for a business that was a democracy? They are, at best, oligarchies, at worst, totalitarian regimes run by petty despots (that frequently fail).

Explains a lot doesnt it?

Dave's 2010 Booklist

"20 years ago I found a study that said if you read one book a month, 12 books a year, you're in the 99th percentile of readers."

via Millard Fillmore's Bathtub.

Man, I really hope that's not true. There's no link or citition accompanying his statement, so I cant say how accurate it is. Still, it's a great intro to this year's Booklist. As always, recommended books and authors are linked.

Fiction:

Arakawa Hiromu - Full Metal Alchemist (online)
Aston, Elizabeth - The Darcy Connection
Aston, Elizabeth - Writing Jane Austin
Bagshawe, Louise - The Go-To Girl
Bartlett, Beverly - Covergirl Confidential
Bear, Elizabeth - All The Windwracked Stars
Brett, Simon - The Penultimate Chance Saloon
Brotherton, Mike - Spider Star
Carbin, Debbie - Thanks For Nothing, Nick Maxwell
Chalker, Jack L. - Kaspar's Box
Colfer, Eoin - And Another Thing...
Conly, Jane Leslie - The Rudest Alien On Earth
Crusie, Jennifer - Anyone But You
Crusie, Jennifer - Bet Me
Crusie, Jennifer - Strange Bedfellows
Crusie, Jennifer + Mayer, Bob - Agnes and the Hitman
Crusie, Jennifer + Mayer, Bob - Wild Ride
Ferris, Joshua - Then We Came to the End
Flynn, Michael - The Wreck of the River of Stars
French, Wendy - Full Of It
Grange, Amanda - Colonel Brandon's Diary
Haas, Charlie - The Enthusiast
Harris, Charlaine - Dead In The Family
Harrison, M. John - Light
Haynes, David - The Full Matilda
Hendee, Barb + Hendee, J. C. - Child of a Dead God
Hobb, Robin - Dragon Haven
Hobb, Robin - Dragon Keeper
Hodgell, P. C. - Bound In Blood
Hornby, Nick - Juliet, Naked
Kadrey, Richard - Sandman Slim
Katsuhiro Otomo - Akira (vol 1)
Kazuo Koike + Goseki Kojima - Lone Wolf And Cub (vols 1, 2)
Lutz, Lisa - The Spellmans Strike Again
Martinez, A. Lee - Divine Misfortune
Martinez, A. Lee - Monster
McDevitt, Jack - Chindi
McDevitt, Jack - Seeker
Millar, Martin - Suzy, Led Zeppelin and Me
Miller, David - Dave: A Collection
Mitsunaga Yasunori - Princess Resurrection (online)
Moore, Christopher - A Dirty Job
Moore, Christopher - Bite Me
Moore, Christopher - Lamb
Morris, Gerald - The Adventures of Sir Grivet The Short
Murdock, Catherine Gilbert - Front And Center
Neches, Karen - Earthly Pleasures
Nix, Garth - Lord Sunday
Oppel, Kenneth - Starclimber
Paulson, Gary - Notes From The Dog
Powers, Time - Earthquake Weather
Pratchett, Terry - I Shall Wear Midnight
Pratchett, Terry - Jingo
Pratchett, Terry - Monsterous Regiment
Resnick, Mike - Starship: Flagship
Rosenberg, Liz - Home Repair
Schulz, Charles M. - The Compete Peanuts, thru 1964
Simak, Clifford D. - City
Simak, Clifford D. - Fellowship of the Talisman
Simak, Clifford D. - Project Pope
Slater, Maya - The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy
Smith, Alexander McCall - The Unbearable Lightness of Scones
Strohmeyer, Sarah - The Penny Pinchers Club
Takahashi, Rumiko - Inuyasha (vols 1,2)
Van Name, Mark L. - Slanted Jack
Vinge, Vernor - Rainbow's End
Weaver, Will - Defect
Wilder, Laura Ingalls - These Happy Golden Years
Yolen, Jane + Snyder, Midori - Except The Queen
Zahn, Timothy - Dragon and Herdsman
Zahn, Timothy - Dragon and Judge
Zahn, Timothy - Dragon and Liberator
Zama, Farahad - The Marriage Bureau For Rich People


Non-Fiction:

Crawford, Matthew B. - Shop Class As Soulcraft
Kluger, Jeffrey - Simplexity
Miller, Matt - The Tyranny of Dead Ideas
Morris, Edmund - Theodore Rex
Morris, Howard J. + Lee, Jenny - Men Are Stupid, Women Are Crazy
Pedersen, Laura - Buffalo Gal: A Memoir
Schlesinger, Henry - The Battery
Smit, Barbara - Sneaker Wars
Standage, Tom - The Victorian Internet



Web Comic Archives, read in their entirety, something I've been doing lately (I've listed only the larger ones, but I've read the archives of most of the comics in my comix list). Links take you to the first page of the series:

Blip
Girls With Slingshots
Penny And Aggie
PVP
Roomies/It's Walky/Joyce And Walkie
Scary-Go-Round
Shortpacked
Something Positive
Wapsi Square


Previous Lists: 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004.

language for the new year