Instead of Facebook, why not calculate the center of gravity?
Think of other things you could be doing with your time spent on Facebook. If you find yourself spending, say, 10 hours a week on Facebook, make a list of all the other things you could accomplish in that time. You could: pick up a part time job and invest that money in stocks teach a child how to throw a football get fit build a gas scooter or an adobe wall calculate the center of gravity volunteer Read a book teach yourself a new language make a papasan chair cushion via wikihow.com I just read Virginia Heffernan’s article about Read more…
Another Kennedy eulogy — this time by Andew Sullivan
He also worked across the aisle, helping George W Bush to pass his No Child Left Behind Act to improve school standards, joining with John McCain to forge a humane immigration reform. He was a senator able to be fiercely ideological and also fiercely pragmatic, able to develop friendships beyond politics – friendships that are the grease that makes the Senate work. He was a master of parliamentary procedures and the helm of a ship of highly skilled staffers. He was also, of course, a politician. Despite being a proponent of green energy, he single-handedly prevented the construction of a Read more…
Freaks and Geeks, all 18 episodes worth …
Mary and I finished the complete series of Freaks and Geeks this weekend. Unfortunately, that means we're only talking about 18 episodes, since no one watched the show when it was on 9 years ago. But I really really enjoyed it. And I laughed virtually non-stop. The characters, like the characters on The Wire, were strong enough that I thought of them as real people, independent from the show. Here's a couple short clips, one from the first episode, and another from one of the last. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVSm8T-uXrw?wmode=transparent] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUMf_iQQpcA?wmode=transparent] I'll miss this show.
Obama’s Eulogy for Sen. Kennedy
This spirit of resilience and good humor would see Ted Kennedy through more pain and tragedy than most of us will ever know. He lost two siblings by the age of sixteen. He saw two more taken violently from the country that loved them. He said goodbye to his beloved sister, Eunice, in the final days of his own life. He narrowly survived a plane crash, watched two children struggle with cancer, buried three nephews, and experienced personal failings and setbacks in the most public way possible. via talkingpointsmemo.com I thought Obama’s eulogy was very moving. Click above for the Read more…
If you’re in to this sort of thing …
The famed diarist Samuel Pepys kept a meticulous diary for years and years. It has proven to be a huge historical resource for looking into the lives of Londoners in the 1600s. Pepys was also on hand to describe the Great Fire of London, which started September 5, 1666. One website has been posting a diary entry every day from Pepys. Today's is August 28, 1666, which means that next Saturday, the Great Fire begins!
Once Upon A Time In Mexico
Earlier this week I finished Robert Rodriguez's trilogy about El Mariachi with Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Like El Mariachi and Desperado, this movie worked … mostly. There is real joy in the filmmaking, and some really great scenes. But its over-the-top style doesn't carry it the whole way. Johnny Depp really stands out as a CIA agent with some wonderful lines ("Are you a Mexican or a Mexican't?") and a great character. Antonio Banderas does a good job carrying what Roger Ebert calls the "Eastwood" role. This was a fun movie, but it doesn't hold up to some Read more…
Flying into Antarctica
I have a real fascination with Antarctica. One of the items that shows up regularly in my reader is The Antarctic Sun, the newspaper that covers “the US Antarctic Program, the Ice, and the People.” And it tells me that people are arriving at McMurdo for the start of the Antarctic season. A photo gallery can be found here. Looks cold and deadly and uninviting. But I still want to go!
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