Jan
29th
Fri
29th
--Neko Case
Lois Lane, by Chris Samnee.
Jan
25th
Mon
25th
“All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded to the individual.” —Albert Einstein
Jan
23rd
Sat
23rd
“Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.”
I must judge for myself, but how can I judge, how can any man judge, unless his mind has been opened and enlarged by reading.
— John Adams
Wisdom and knowledge, as well as virtue, diffused generally among the body of the people being necessary for the preservation of their rights and liberties; and as these depend on spreading the opportunities and advantages of education in various parts of the country, and among the different orders of the people, it shall be the duty of legislators and magistrates in all future periods of this commonwealth to cherish the interests of literature and the sciences, and all seminaries of them, especially the university at Cambridge, public schools, and grammar schools in the towns; to encourage private societies and public institutions, rewards and immunities, for the promotion of agriculture, arts, sciences, commerce, trades, manufactures, and a natural history of the country; to countenance and inculcate the principles of humanity and general benevolence, public and private charity, industry and frugality, honesty and punctuality in their dealings, sincerity, good humor, and all social affections, and generous sentiments among the people.
— John Adams, in the constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the oldest functioning written constitution in the world.
Jan
7th
Thu
7th
People tend to deny that which they can’t see, that which isn’t really affecting their lives. They get very hung up on the notion that the planet has naturally warmed before. Yes, the earth’s climate varies naturally a great deal. But people then commit the error of assuming that because the earth’s climate varies naturally, this must mean the variation is benign. Well, no, it’s not benign. The ice age wasn’t benign, and even though the medieval warm period was benign in places like Britain or France, creating bumper crops and greater wealth, it wasn’t benign in the southwestern United States, where it led to prolonged drought. It’s possible we could change the climate and it wouldn’t be bad—for everyone, anyway. There might be some winners. Canadians might be happier. But it seems like there will be more losers than winners.
— Robert Kunzig, senior environment editor at National Geographic. Interview conducted by Josie Glausiusz, from ecotone 8.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Aziz Ansari’s new comedy album has some seriously great bits. This is one of the best, but I’m not going to ruin it for you. It’s NSFW, if that matters to you.
