Category: Society & Culture

Forgetting J.D. Salinger

The media is filled today with stories about the impact that J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye made on impressionable [mostly] young readers. For example, the co-hosts of NBC’s Today Show shared their recollections of how the book affected them, with Matt Laurer stating that he remembered being proud that Catcher was his first… Continue reading Forgetting J.D. Salinger

“The intricate economics of terrorism”

Loretta Napoleoni is an economist, journalist, political activist, and author. Her professional specialty is in the financing of terrorist activity, and how mainstream economic activity is affected by that financing. I found [via Bruce Schneier’s blog] the following video of a speech given at the 2009 TEDGlobal Conference, and it’s quite fascinating. In a relatively… Continue reading “The intricate economics of terrorism”

“Portraits of Power”

What do Muammar Qaddafi, Gordon Brown, Barack Obama, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Dmitry Medvedev, Hugo Chávez, and Benjamin Netanyahu have in common…well, besides that whole “head of state” thing? They each were photographed individually, along with forty other national leaders by Platon, staff photographer for The New Yorker, during a U.N. General Assembly last September. The results… Continue reading “Portraits of Power”

Brain Dead Man Not – Or Not

Update: Some instances of so-called “Facilitated Communication” have been scientifically debunked. Here are some media reports on those debunkings. Particularly damning is this one detailing the results of a double-blind test in which not one of 180 FC tests yielded the proper response. By now, you’d have to be in a coma not to have… Continue reading Brain Dead Man Not – Or Not

Aggie Bonfire – 10 Years Later

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the collapse of the bonfire on the Texas A&M campus that killed twelve students and injured many others. The university marked this anniversary with a week-long observance, which culminated in a candlelight vigil and memorial service beginning at 2:42 this morning, the precise time of the collapse. Photos from… Continue reading Aggie Bonfire – 10 Years Later

Dogs like Veterans Day, too

I think a fitting way to wrap up Veterans Day 2009 is by watching the reactions of dogs to the return of their masters after being deployed in military service. Outstanding! You’ll also be struck by how these tough, well-trained fighting men are reduced to blathering by the sight of their overjoyed dogs. Dogs have… Continue reading Dogs like Veterans Day, too

Veteran’s Day

I want to add my voice to the chorus in thanking those who have served in the US military over the years, starting with my dad (who was awarded a Purple Heart in the European Theater of WWII) and including my father-in-law and numerous uncles, aunts, cousins, friends, and sons and daughters of those friends,… Continue reading Veteran’s Day