Who decides what “insane” means? This was the major question of Ken Kesey’s countercultural classic “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” which illustrated how mental illness could be deployed by […]
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For those of you who don’t frequent Craigslist Adult Services section, life was perhaps pretty uneventful last weekend. However, if you live in the US and are a patron of […]
Few people have felt the muzzle of an automatic machine gun in their gut, let alone survived a kidnapping on their birthday. In January 1998, then-federal prosecutor Stanley Alpert was […]
There were two threads of news this morning about potential activity at two fairly active Chilean volcanoes. First, there are reports of explosions (spanish) with ash or merely steam emissions at […]
The unexpected revival of Sinabung in Indonesia is now in its 2nd week and so far, the activity continues to ramp up. Overnight, the volcano experienced some of the largest […]
“With car use increasing all the time, in a few years we could be facing global gridlock. Can the calculations of mathematicians and engineers keep us moving?” The Independent reports.
“A genetically engineered strain of Atlantic salmon that’s designed to grow twice as fast as its unaltered cousins may soon be eligible for dinner.” The FDA may soon approve the food.
“There are nine states in the union where the government maintains a direct monopoly on the sale of hard liquor.” The Economist reports on these ‘lonely outposts of American socialism’.
“Is the future of TV in social networking?” A Forbes Magazine blog looks at the future of the television, which is online and allows shared viewing and conversations over Facebook and Twitter.
“How dizzyjam.com, muzu.tv and The Vynyl Factory are staging a musical revolution.” The Telegraph reports on three Internet startups that are working to change the music industry.
“Disenchantment is a result of our having over-intellectualized our relations to the world (including nature).” Philosophy professor Akeel Bilgrami advocates a wider view of nature.
Rising jazz pianist Vijay Iyer, whose doctoral thesis was a study of musical cognition and the movement of the body, draws inspiration from past jazz masters as well as the field of physics.
“Happy F*ckin’ Labor Day! Before there were unions, there was no middle class.” Michael Moore tells White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel he ought to defend the UAW.
Politics and economics used to divide Europe into parts East and West, but now North and South better define the continent’s different approaches when it comes to managing money.
Traditionally used for military purposes, falling costs in robotics are pushing the technology into hospitals, offices and the home. The technology redefines what it means to ‘be’ in a place.
All conflict tends towards binarity, be it on the chess board, in the political arena or on the mean streets of Los Angeles. This map shows parts of south LA, […]
Summer is over. Now fall begins. When we think back on this season in this year will we remember the books, the songs, the finals of the U.S. Open (or […]
Plastic bags are still legal in California. San Francisco and a handful of other California cities already ban the bags, but California lawmakers rejected a bill brought by Democrats that […]
Science and democracy are supposed to go together like Mom and apple pie. But in the American political arena, they aren’t naturally compatible: To show people Science, you have to […]
Some time ago, we looked at how designers are rethinking packaging to make it less ecologically demanding and more user-friendly. Now, eBay joins the movement with “simple green shipping” – […]
Monday is here already and although lots of folks in the States have today off (Labor Day), I don’t (from blogging or teaching)! Some news: There is a whole lot […]
“It is immoral to use private property in order to alleviate the horrible evils that result from the institution of private property.” Žižek quotes Oscar Wilde to criticize modern ideas of charity.
The New Scientist reports on an old idea, that once out of favor is gaining traction again: the language you speak, while not determining your perceptions, influences your worldview.
“Whenever a prominent scientist [disputes the existence of God], all hell is sure to break loose.” The Economist measures the fallout from physicist Stephen Hawking’s new book.
“Modernity, which centrally entails a weakening of family and clan ties, is a precondition of economic progress.” Judge Richard Posner discusses economic development in poor countries.
As Texas investigates anti-trust claims made against Google, The Wall Street Journal reports on a widening trend of government hostility toward the Internet giant.
“Incarceration in America is a failure by almost any measure. But what if the prisons could be turned inside out, with convicts released into society under constant electronic surveillance?”
“America’s ‘combat mission’ in Iraq may be over, but the combat is not.” The New Yorker on the lives, strategy and moral clarity that has been lost during the occupation of Iraq.
“It is Europe, not the United States, where the West and Islam exist in closest daily proximity.” The CSM reports that skepticism of Islam may be greater in Europe than in the U.S.
“Americans have more to fear from the folly of establishments than from the paranoia such follies summon up.” Ross Douthat says our over-the-top politics represent symbolic protest.