slacktivist: “Yes we can” “Evidence is of no consequence to Medina and Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck and the rest of the terrified angry mob calling itself a Tea Party because they’re not acting based on evidence, or reason, or reality, or honesty. They’re acting based on fear — blind, howling, maddening, confusing fear.” (tags:… Continue reading Links for 2009-12-15
Month: December 2009
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2009?
The overlap between my readership and SF fandom is not as high as one might like, but I thought I would throw this out there anyway: What were the best science fiction and/or fantasy stories of 2009? (“Stories” here can mean anything from short stories to novels to feature films. We’re all about inclusiveness, here… Continue reading Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2009?
Quantization of Books
In response to my post about Amazon sales-rank tracking, Matthew Beckler created just such a tracker: That’s the last few days’ worth of hourly rankings of How to Teach Physics to Your Dog, as of 10am Eastern. Enormous dork that I am, I find this really fascinating, and not just in an absolute-number sense (because,… Continue reading Quantization of Books
Best Books, With Bonus Irony
Like every other media outlet, Slate has a Best Books of 2009 list, in this case featuring one book chosen by each of their 22 editors. Editor in chief Jacob Weisberg chose Richard Holmes’s The Age of Wonder, and writes: If, like me, you didn’t study much science after high school, this absorbing narrative will… Continue reading Best Books, With Bonus Irony
Links for 2009-12-14
Blog U.: ‘With Their Whole Lives Ahead of Them’ – Mama PhD – Inside Higher Ed “According to the report, the US has now slipped to tenth place in international college completion rates. I don’t think it’s coincidental that we are one of the few developed countries in which subsidized day care is not a… Continue reading Links for 2009-12-14
Big Shoes to Fill
SteelyKid is a great big baby. By which I mean, she’s large for her age. We keep running into other parents whose kids are about the same size as her, but a year or more older. Every now and then, though, she does something to remind us that she’s still got a lot of growing… Continue reading Big Shoes to Fill
Tiger Woods Can’t Win
I mostly try to avoid stupid celebrity gossip stories, but the last two weeks, it’s been impossible to escape the sordid Tiger Woods thing. I still don’t care about his personal life, but there’s one thing that keeps coming up in the media coverage that’s annoying me even beyond the stupidity of the whole business.… Continue reading Tiger Woods Can’t Win
Links for 2009-12-13
7 Reasons the 21st Century is Making You Miserable | Cracked.com “[H]ow did we wind up with a more negative view of the world than our parents? Or grandparents? Back then, people didn’t live as long and babies died more often. Diseases were more common. In those days, if your buddy moved away the only… Continue reading Links for 2009-12-13
Links for 2009-12-12
Dr Peter Watts, Canadian science fiction writer, beaten and arrested at US border Boing Boing With information on how to donate to his legal defense. (tags: canada sf law blogs crime US stupid) The Good and Bad of the New Hubble Image : Starts With A Bang Earlier this week, I showcased the newly-released Hubble… Continue reading Links for 2009-12-12
Unclear on the Concept
I was sitting in my office on campus, working on some computer stuff, when I noticed a bunch of guys from Facilities out in the hall, bustling around doing something. A few minutes later, one of them stopped right outside my door, and called into the main Facilities office on his cell phone. “We’re up… Continue reading Unclear on the Concept