Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….
- Kristol: Obama’s Nobel Speech ‘Lays The Predicate For The Legitimate Use Of Force’ Against Iran – Because the Neocons never met a potential war they didn’t like.
- Fox’s ‘Fair And Balanced’ Debate: ‘Does Climate Change Exist?’ – Next up: “fair and balanced” debate between people who assert the Earth iss flat, and those who “claim” it’s “round.”
- Houston voters elect first openly gay mayor – washingtonpost.com – Rather, “Houston voters elect first mayor who is openly gay.” I doubt many voted for her because she’s a lesbian; they voted for her because her being a lesbian mattered less than other factors. And, frankly, that’s the way it should be.
- Getting the Story Right: The Peak Oil vs. Climate Change Inanity Continues : Casaubon’s Book – But! But! Conspiracy! Climategate! ACORN!
- European cartoonist on a rampage! Gods derided! : Pharyngula – Will all those folks who have been decrying “hate crime” protection for gays on the principle that hate crimes are wrong, similarly condemn Austrian laws that against “degrading religion”? Or are some groups more protected than others? Regardless, I think the actions of the Vienna Catholic archdiocese is wrong. Religion, and religious doctrine, and certainly religious believers, cannot be sacrosanct from criticism or question or even insult. Look at how the founder of Christianity treated the church and church hierarchy of his time (and what happened to him as a result). The only somewhat bright side here is that nobody (as quoted) is yet calling for a holy murder contract on the cartoonist.
- Afghanistan: When the Mad Biologist’s Rule of Base Ten Numbers Turns Deadly : Mike the Mad Biologist – Controlling policy never just controls; it almost always incents, usually in unexpected directions.
- 45 Breathtaking Examples of Slow Shutter Speed Photography – Very pretty.
- The Mood Ring: What To Do With Mood In Your Story? – @chuckwendig speaks truth.
- Garlic Prawns – Mmmm. This is making my mouth water. Though I’d rather have more crushed garlic that you can then soak up with softer bread after the shrimp are gone.
- Caffeine doesn’t reverse the negative cognitive impact of alcohol, study shows – You not only get a wide-awake drunk, you get a drunk who is even less likely to be aware of drunkenness.
- Unholy_three.png – For those who think the Anti-Vaccination Fringe is something new …
- 12 Days of Lovecraft: “The Call of Cthulhu” – Scott Altmann is reviewing Lovecraft’s greatest hits. Lovecraft is one of those authors that a lot of folks know about, but have never read.
- Superman at War, Wonder Woman Renumbered, Batman Still Dead – I sent one of the postcards.
- Topless Robot – The 12 Nerdiest Cult Shows That Still Need to Be on DVD – Wow. I’m surprised at some of these. And, yes, I’d buy some of these.
- Haunting dead mall photo-gallery – America’s equivalent of those abandoned Soviet cities …
- RIAA, MPAA and US Chamber of Commerce declare war on blind and disabled people – “Unless we own it all and you can only access it by paying us for it, in the forms we choose to release, then the situation is intolerable.” Which is basically what Big Media and Big Business is saying.
- Now Is It Facebook’s Microsoft Moment? – This week was when it became clear that FB is more interested in what benefits FB, regardless of what it means to FB members. Caveat emptor.
- Manhattan Declaration Authors Criticize Aspects of Uganda’s “Kill Gays” Bill – But aspects only.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I just read “Call of Cthulu” for the first time. I liked it and thought it was engaging, but I’m undecided on whether it deserves all the praise it gets. Unlike Altmann, I thought the rather complex language was entertaining and interesting. I also didn’t find the implicit racism as objectionable as Altmann. The one thing I wanted to be different was the pacing. At times it felt to me like parts could be tightened up to keep the story going better.
Lovecraft does tend to drag on a bit, even for a pulp writer.
I don’t know that Lovecraft himself is so great, as much as his inspiration of a whole strain of fantasy themes. He is a seminal writer in the field, which doesn’t necessarily mean he’s an enjoyable one.