The famous female philosopher, mathematician, and atheist--played by Rachel Weisz--is the heroine in what looks like a very anti-Christian movie: Agora (tr: Prediction).
6.30.2009
6.27.2009
Colonel Bob Boatwright
Mint Juleps begin at 6:59. "Do you heah me? I know that you do, I know that you do."
Seen It
The Space and Rocket Center is getting a huge Star Wars exhibit. It's pretty cool: I saw it in Boston late 2006.
6.26.2009
6.25.2009
Hitchens On Iran
No pleasing Mullahs, so why even try?
It is a mistake to assume that the ayatollahs, cynical and corrupt as they may be, are acting rationally. They are frequently in the grip of archaic beliefs and fears that would make a stupefied medieval European peasant seem mentally sturdy and resourceful by comparison.
6.22.2009
Real Journalism Vs Scientology
The St. Petersburg Times is running a 3-part series skewering Scientology. Parts 1 and 2 are published. I have only read 2/3 of part 1 so far, and it is as fascinating as it is scathing. Hooray for real journalism!
Part 1
Part 2
Of course, the Thetan-haters are displeased.
Part 1
Part 2
Of course, the Thetan-haters are displeased.
6.19.2009
6.16.2009
6.14.2009
We need this book
Would You Wear a Serial Killer's Sweater?
On jellyfish genes, autism, politics, and how our intuitions lead us into strange territory.
On jellyfish genes, autism, politics, and how our intuitions lead us into strange territory.
Psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist Bruce Hood has been known to brandish a cardigan belonging to the serial killer Fred West in the lecture hall. West tortured, raped, and murdered at least 12 women. Of course, a moment's reflection will reveal that his sartorial choices probably had nothing to do with his grisly hobby. And there's no possibility of catching serial killer disease from his sweater, right? Nonetheless, most people will refuse to wear the sweater once they know its provenance (false provenance, actually, the sweater Hood uses is not really West's). Odder still, in large lecture halls, members of the audience will physically recoil from the few people who say they are willing to wear the sweater. The crowds, which often consist of highly-educated, secular people, laugh nervously as this little drama is played out, says Hood, because they realize that there is something odd and illogical about their reaction.
Hood has made a study of these intuitive ways of seeing the world. In his new book Supersense: Why We Believe in the Unbelievable (HarperOne), he looks at the moments where our intuitions come into conflict with our rational faculty. We're born with a proclivity to see patterns that aren't there, to sense agency where there is only randomness, and to tell stories about cause and effect that may or may not be true. Hood examines religion through this lens, but most of the book focuses on the ways that even people who don't consider themselves religious—or even superstitious—are governed by intuition.
6.13.2009
So Will Michael Sheen Be Playing Tony Blair Or Q?
The next James Bond film is going to be the best ever: Peter Morgan has been hired as one of screenwriters.
Morgan wrote The Queen, The Last King of Scotland, and Frost/Nixon, all of which are WAY better than you would ever think or than they have any right to be. If he can make David Frost's interview of Nixon an enthralling, edge-of-your-seat suspense drama, imagine what he'll do with Bond.
Morgan wrote The Queen, The Last King of Scotland, and Frost/Nixon, all of which are WAY better than you would ever think or than they have any right to be. If he can make David Frost's interview of Nixon an enthralling, edge-of-your-seat suspense drama, imagine what he'll do with Bond.
6.12.2009
6.11.2009
6.10.2009
Unsettling item from Counterterrorism Blog
Hack-Jet: Losing a commercial airliner in a networked world
Much of the speculation regarding the fate of the aircraft has focused on the effects of bad weather or a glitch in the fly-by-wire system that could have caused the plane to dive uncontrollably. There is however another theory, which while currently unlikely, if true would change the global aviation security situation overnight. A Hacked-Jet.
6.07.2009
6.06.2009
It sounds so strange 21st century to say it:
I got this from Richard Dawkins on Twitter:The Secular Coalition for America.
June 6, 1944
Please read it all at Ace of Spades HQ
You know what I did this morning? Maybe it would be better if I told you what I didn't do this morning.
I didn't have to spend over 12 hours on a transport ship in choppy water, then clamber down a cargo net into a plywood landing craft, all while carrying up to 100 pounds of gear on my back. Then, I didn't ride through the rough surf in that little plywood target, only to have the steel ramp (the only part of the little plywood boat that was even remotely bullet-resistant) flop down and drop me into the cold ocean water in front of a beach filled with steel obstacles, mines, flying bullets & exploding artillery rounds.
Please read it all at Ace of Spades HQ
6.05.2009
The Scariest Movie Of 2008
Not even close...The Halloween of French horror films, equal parts John Carpenter and Alfred Hitchcock. Revolting and tense, it is one of my favorite horror films of all time.
Vive la France!
The Scariest American Movie Of 2008
An underrated masterpiece...it chills me to even think of it. I lock my door every time I enter because of this film. .
Is Tamera home?
June 4 Massacre
The value of a single human is worth more than a state, or an ideal, or a religion. So say we all...
6.04.2009
Want To Get Your Teenage Daughter Knocked Up?
Send her to a religious school:
A new study published in the June issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior shows that young women in their teens or early twenties who have attended religious schools are more likely than their peers to get an abortion, despite their beliefs. In fact, the research points out, these girls are more likely than those in the public school system to get pregnant without being too mature or married.The hypocrisy...it burns....
Emo Kid Is Throwing Slo-Mo Dove At My Face
Here's the video of my favorite most horrible song of all time, "Total Eclipse of the Heart," only the lyrics have been changed to describe the video's bat-shit craziness. This parody has forced me to throw away 3 perfectly good boxer briefs, so consider yourself warned.
P.J.'s still got it
The End of the Affair - The fate of Detroit isn’t a matter of economics. It’s a tragic romance, whose magic was killed by bureaucrats, bad taste and busybodies. by P.J. O'Rourke at wsj.com
A hundred and some years ago Rudyard Kipling wrote “The Ballad of the King’s Jest,” in which an Afghan tribesman avers: Four things greater than all things are, — Women and Horses and Power and War. Insert another “power” after the horse and the verse was as true in the suburbs of my 1950s boyhood as it was in the Khyber Pass.
Just minding my own business, surfing bloody-disgusting.com...
MARTYRS is this year's INSIDE, both films which are legendary in their own right.
(I discovered this while reading Pascal Laugier Exits 'Hellraiser' Remake).
6.03.2009
6.02.2009
Then Get On With It
Obama recognized June as Pride month.
"The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress, but there is more work to be done," he said. "LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect."
Obama also reiterated his support for hate crimes legislation, civil unions and federal rights for LGBT people, outlawing discrimination in the workplace and ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law "in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security."
Well, what's stopping you? End DODT now: one stroke of a pen ends throwing gays out of the military (legally, the President can end military discharges in wartime based on whatever criteria he sees fit), and Congress can do the rest if pushed. And tell those reprobates in Congress to repeal DOMA this session (or as soon as Al Franken is in the Senate, in any case).
Like any minority tied to one party, we're taken advantage of in November, then promised the fulfillment of promises until the party's power is lost. But we have a card to play with the DNC: we don't have to show up to the polls in 2010 or 2012. And if "No more Mr. Nice Gay" is going to mean anything, that card needs to be played.
And Obama might want to reconsider his stance on gay marriage since, on that issue, he is to the right of Darth Cheney.
6.01.2009
Internet famous.
You've probably heard about the JSU President being accused of plagiarizing his dissertation at Alabama. It was an Ed.D. in Higher Ed Administration, finished in 1999. He copied a dissertation completed in 1996, by Carl Boening! Our Chuck is internet famous.
What plagiarism looks like - Boing Boing
What plagiarism looks like. - Orange Crate Art
What plagiarism looks like - google doc
Prof denies contact regarding plagiarism - Tuscaloosa News
I remember Chuck doing this research. Miller was a nice guy, esp. for a professor, and Tobermory was in the program for a while. Doesn't seem real. I guesss, if you're going to copy a dissertation, copy a Malleteer.
What plagiarism looks like - Boing Boing
What plagiarism looks like. - Orange Crate Art
What plagiarism looks like - google doc
Prof denies contact regarding plagiarism - Tuscaloosa News
I remember Chuck doing this research. Miller was a nice guy, esp. for a professor, and Tobermory was in the program for a while. Doesn't seem real. I guesss, if you're going to copy a dissertation, copy a Malleteer.
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