Links (most recent first) that caught my eye, but did not warrant full-blown blog entries ….
- Topless Robot – 5 Good Things and 5 Exceedingly Bad Things about the Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark Musical – Page 1 – Oh … my ….
- The Pros and Cons of Pirates of the Caribbean 4, as Evidenced by the Trailer – Here’s the problem (as I see it): what made PotC 1 so good was that it was not about Cap’n Jack Sparrow. It was about Will and Elizabeth. As the series progressed, it became less about them and more about Cap’n Jack hijinx. Now that it’s just about Cap’n Jack … meh.
- I Gotta Give Fox This One – Well I have to say, they’re at least being up-front about it.
- BBC News – How the ancient Welsh language helped shape English – Cwl!
- Not lost in translation: dictionary traces English words’ Irish roots – The Irish Times – Wed, Dec 01, 2010
- When will English come to a full stop? | Books | The Observer – I don’t see any reason why English shouldn’t continue on as an (already-established) lingua franca for centuries, if not longer — but I strongly suspect America’s dominance over it will wane, just as England’s did before it.
- Top 10 Reasons Why I Should Direct “Iron Man III” – I’d buy a ticket.
- Self-Depritweeting – You’re not here for the hunting, are ya, Tim?
- The culture of conspiracy, the conspiracy of culture – Quoting Teresa Nielsen Hayden on WikiLeaks: “Two or three million people had unchecked access to this material, but my government is outraged that I can read it? What am I now, a peasant?”
- React Like It’s 1805 – ” People who claim to be “originalists” without expressing concern about the effect of a standing army on democracy are either disingenuous or uninformed, or both.” Having a large standing army (and, arguably, some need for same) is not only not in keeping with what the Founders (in general) wanted, but has had a significant distortion on our government and taxation from what those Founders — or their succeeding generations — intended. But I don’t think you’re going to hear Scalia or Thomas (let alone McConnell or Gingrich or Hannity) going on about that.
- How the Republican Party broke up with Science – Yes.
- The Reign of Witches Has Not Passed – “The treatment of Bradley Manning is microcosmic of a broader trend that does not speak well for the degree of civilization in our society. And yet we continue to lecture the world as if we were somehow exceptional.”
- What Jim DeMint considers ‘sacrilegious’ – Worth reading just for the “update” at the end.
- An unexpected moment of candor – Candor? From a GOP Senator? Inconceivable!
- Gohmert: Without DADT, Military Stands to Lose Thousands and US Will Reach the “End of its Existence as a Great Nation” – So, according to Rep Gohmert (R-TX, natch) we can’t let gays openly serve in the military because the military is already restricted in its freedom, so we can’t give any freedom to the gays there. Um … right. Bottom line, Rep. Gohmert demeans the patriotism and professionalism of our soldiers by suggesting that they’ll run, screaming to the hills, if it turns out that the guy the next foxhole over is (eek!) gay.
- Allow Me To Quote Bryan Fischer Verbatim: “That’s Not Misrepresentation, That’s Quotation.” – Bryan Fischer is a … well, I repeat myself.
- Conservatives Seeks To Reform Justice System To Lock Up Fewer Criminals – But the driver here is not, of course, justice, but (a) saving money, and (b) victim (consumer) satisfaction. And, honestly, I suspect they are more concerned about (a).
- Religious Right Keeps Fighting Losing Battle Against DADT – Quoth Liberty Counsel: “I am incensed that these lame duck demagogues refuse to accept the fact that Americans do not want open homosexuality in our armed forces!” Quoth I, I am incensed that these totally lame demagogues refuse to accept the fact that Americans DO want open homosexuality in our armed forces. Or, at least, they don’t think it’s right to kick open homosexuals out.
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