February 2009
The comicbook version ended with a giant squid... →
Understanding comics - Scott McCloud recaps his comics theory work at TED. He also has two more graphic novels on the way. Lots of previously.
January 2009
A Story in Pictures →
Two of the most important women’s-rights-related bill-signings in the past few years.
The Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003:
And the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009:
Walking Away from Transparency, Step Two →
On the first full day of the new Obama administration, I wrote here, and later followed up, expressing regret that the Obama White House hadn’t ported the “Seat at the Table” program over from…
In Google We Trust? →
Felix Salmon wonders what would happen if Google ran aground:
Google is too big to fail. If Google went down tomorrow, the loss of $100 billion in stock-market value would only be the tip of the…
The Missing Memos - ProPublica →
The Politics of Crazy →
One of the most fascinating angles to the Rod Blagojevich saga is the reaction of mental health professionals to everyone calling him “crazy” or “cuckoo.” As the Chicago Tribune reports: The language…
The Republican Death Spiral →
It’s not just the goose egg that the House Republicans laid on the Democratic stimulus package yesterday: Boehner’s Boys have been equally uncooperative on other matters. Case in point: a bill…
Disney genealogy →
Donald Duck’s family tree. Donald’s relatives include Gladstone Gander, Hortense McDuck, Lullubelle Loon, Cuthbert Coot, Angus “Pothole” McDuck, and “Dirty” Dingus McDuck. (via ebert) Update:…
Paper Cuts: Some Good News in the Literary World →
The literary world has felt smaller and darker in recent days and weeks, but all news is not bad news. n+1 has launched a book review supplement, and The Rumpus, a new blog-magazine-aggregator,…
Good news about women and the stimulus package →
We didn’t win the birth control battle, but the stimulus package is still very good for women.
So, what’s in the package for women? “Expanding health for them, childcare, unemployment…
EFF Explains Why You Should Be Allowed To Sell... →
Last summer, a district court ruled that selling promo CDs is perfectly legal. This was an important ruling, because it reinforced the right of first sale — which has been a part of copyright law…
Norms, Minorities, and Collective Choice Online →
Henry Farrell and Melissa Schwartzberg in Ethics & International Affairs (via bookforum):
We believe that the case studies outlined above [Daily Kos and Wikipedia]???brief and…
A Word From H.L. Mencken →
Our colleague Andrea Seabrook sends along this excerpt from H. L. Mencken’s essay “What Is Going On In the World,” published in The American Mercury, March, 1933: The psychic effect of the…
USDA Releases ‘Naturally Raised’ Claim Standards →
Western Livestock Journal
Producers hungry for a niche may have gotten a boost last week when USDA published its final standards for a naturally raised marketing claim in the Federal Register….
Access is the new hotness →
In other words, access of goods trumps ownership:
As creations become digital they tend to become shared, ownerless goods. We can turn this around and say that in this realm of bits, property…
Anti-Piracy Measures Don’t Work, Report Shows →
Ipoque describes itself as ‘the leading European provider of deep packet inspection solutions’. Based on this statement, it would be expected that the company would take every opportunity to push…
The LEGO Turing machine →
Andnissen writes -
A TV Shop themed demonstration of a Turing Machine made in LEGO Mindstorms. It was made as part of a project at computer science at Aarhus University.
Read more | …
The Still-Missing Memos →
We will not know just how thoroughly the Bush-Cheney administration gutted the Constitution until we see exactly what they decided and how. Here’s a staggeringly long list of memos designed to…
Myths and falsehoods surrounding the economic... →
During
their coverage and discussion of the economic recovery
bill supported by President Obama, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,
media figures have advanced several myths and…
Who Gets Televised →
New report from the ThinkProgress team shows Republicans outnumbered Democrats 2-1 on television discussing the stimulus plan, even though the House GOP minority is essentially powerless and…
20 Great Windows downloads for Data Privacy Day... →
Filed under: Internet, Security, Utilities
Today marks the second “celebration” of Data Privacy Day, an event put together by the good folks at Intel and other groups including…
Fight Stimulus With... Stimulus →
The libertarians at CATO took out a full page advertisement in the Times, Post and other papers yesterday opposing the stimulus package. It ran the same day as this story in the…
Super reflective bright bikes →
From the MAKE Flickr pool Mandiberg covered a bicycle in retroreflective vinyl. The above pic combines two shots of the same bike - left side taken with flash, right side without. Wow!We…
Could genetically modified crops be good for the... →
Shared by mabisa
I’m not sure if using GMOs to sustain our industrial-agricultural complex counts as “good for the environment.”
I’m sitting at my desk examining a $10.95 jar of South River Miso….
African-American Transgender History-50’s Style →
by Guest Contributor Monica Roberts, originally published at TransGriot
One of the beauties of surfing the Net is that from time to time, you’ll stumble across a nugget of history or some…
20 Great Windows downloads for Data Privacy Day... →
Filed under: Internet, Security, Utilities
Today marks the second “celebration” of Data Privacy Day, an event put together by the good folks at Intel and other groups including…
Complaint #355 →
“Michael Cera is acting like an ass about being in the ‘Arrested Development’ movie.”
-Whine by Michelle
Obama’s Angels →
Hillary Clinton graduated from an elite law school, was a staffer on the Hill, a partner in her husband’s successful political career, a United States Senator, and a formidable presidential…
The Best Literary Webzines →
by Gayla Bassham | Esquire’s books blog lists five literary magazines you should be reading:
Narrative—the only literary magazine available for the Kindle. Currently featuring stories by …
Minas Tirith Cake →
I’m not a huge Lord of the Rings fan, but this is simply gorgeous. Cakewrecks is on the hunt for the baker of this beauty, so if you have any leads, leave them a comment.
Link, where you…
Polaroid Saved [Polaroid] →
Polaroid film was set to die and run out, but thanks to an an Austrian artist and businessman, the world could be supplied with Polaroid film for months to come. [The Independent] (Thanks to…
5 bottles of wine for $3 →
Mikey and Wendy created a wonderfully concise wine-making video: Just what I needed to get over the “there’s too many interesting things to read about this project and complications to…
girls make media →
I created this site because I’ve been researching girls’ media production for over a decade now, and wanted to pull together in one place information about girl media producers, as well as programs…
We're all conservatives now →
Andrew points us to this article arguing that Obama is a conservative:
George Bush
was not a conservative, but rather a curious hybrid of reactionary and
progressive. He was a reactionary by…
Chris Ware’s Red Lietmotif →
The whole shabang (via)
Covered: cartoonists redraw classic comic book... →
Over at the Covered blog, several cartoonists are redrawing classic comic book covers in their own style. Here’s Robert Goodin’s take on an issue of Wonder Woman.
Explore the masterpieces of the Prado Museum up... →
You may not immediately recognize this image:
But if I were to zoom out a little you’d see that it was the eye of the central figure in Goya’s “The 3rd of May 1808 in Madrid” closer than…
We're In Danger of Losing Our Memories →
Shared by mabisa
Wait, what? I understand the urge to formalize and nationalize the preservation of online data, but this is a bit alarmist. We already have Google cache, The Wayback Machine, the…
9 In 10 Executives At Bailed-Out Banks Kept Their... →
Over 100,000 people have been laid off by banks, but 9 in 10 executives at banks that accepted bailout money are still working says the Associated Press.
Even top executives whose banks made…
The Importance Of Pop Culture In A Child's... →
There’s a long tradition of many parents whining about whatever pop cultural element is enticing their children — mainly just because it’s different than the type of cultural elements they had when…
Climate Justice in NYC →
Will communities of color have a place at the table now that the Obama administration is poised to break the political gridlock on climate change policy? The New York City-based environmental…
PR debacle for HFCS: Care for some mercury with... →
That much-debated sweetener, high-fructose corn syrup, is going to need more than a pricey PR campaign to fix this one.
After one set of scientists found mercury — yes, everyone’s favorite…
Obama Dope →
Barack Obama is a name that sells. He’s spawned a mini-economy of infinite products ranging from art prints, newspapers and dresses to cheap dishes, gold coins, and now heroin. A…
LEGO sneakers →
I can’t say how comfortable these might be, but what a great LEGO pair of chucks!
More:
Cardboard Shoe Show in NYC Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in…
ASCAP Working To Shut Up Free Culture Supporters →
Well, gosh darn it. Apparently, folks who believe that freeing up your music can help you make more money are actually the enemy of musicians everywhere. At least that appears to be the opinion of…
A THOUSAND CUTS →
by Ryan Avent Let me first say thanks again to Ezra for having me back to guest blog. Thanks, Ezra! Now, to business. As details of the stimulus bill have trickled out, it has become clear that…
Quote For The Day →
Shared by mabisa
At last.
“This is William Kristol’s last column,” - New York Times.
“Will Obama Have A Computer?” Seriously? →
I can’t believe we’re actually asking whether Obama—the candidate who promised to bring the Federal government (and perhaps everyone else) into the Web 2.0 era whether they like it or not—will…
Commodifying the First Daughters →
The first daughters have hit the market. For just $9.99, you can own your own set of “Sweet Sasha” and “Marvelous Malia” dolls. “They’re such adorable girls,” Ty Inc. spokeswoman Tania Lundeen said…
Small-Government Egalitarianism →
Ed Glaeser has an interesting post on what he terms “the case for small-government egalitarianism” which goes off into a stimulus detour, but which is more interesting on more enduring issues. He…