As you may or may not know, Facebook will be switching over its 800 million+ profiles to a new "Timeline" format that will, frankly, make it a hell of a lot more easier stalking so-and-so while giving you the ability to add a banner that will (9 times out of 10) become a free pass for … Continue reading Facebook Timeline: Your Brand Identity Used for Brand Endorsement
Einstein’s Eyes: Yeah, they’re still around.
You may or may not be aware of this fact, but when Albert Einstein died in 1955 an autopsy was performed on his body and - because of his reputation as a genius - his brain was removed to be studied. Approximately 20 years later it would be "rediscovered," studied some more and then 20 … Continue reading Einstein’s Eyes: Yeah, they’re still around.
They just don’t learn, do they? Abortion still doesn’t cause mental illness.
Just as I was writing about the fact that the conservative talking point of "abortion causes mental illness is wrong (but the associated stigma has consequences)", some anti-abortion advocates were out publishing papers in the British Journal of Psychiatry suggesting the exact opposite. The following is quoted from blogger PZ Myers who has an excellent … Continue reading They just don’t learn, do they? Abortion still doesn’t cause mental illness.
A childhood confrontation between A. Hitler and L. Wittgenstein
For an Historiography class I'm in we're reading Lying About Hitler: History, Holocaust and The David Irving Trial (2001) by Richard J. Evans that in addition to tearing apart Holocaust deniers like David Irving also makes the case that historical institutions, methodologies and not being a liar actually matter. In an era where arguments of … Continue reading A childhood confrontation between A. Hitler and L. Wittgenstein
Believe it or not, the Humanities matter
I'll admit that at times it can be hard to defend the Humanities without launching into esotericism or dramatic monologue, were it not for literature, art and philosophy where would we be? Even as science allows us to understand what is it leaves us grasping for what ought. The Humanities are the structures hidden before … Continue reading Believe it or not, the Humanities matter
“Literature is dying,” says the parents to their children
"Literature is dying," says the parents to their children, as their parents at once said to them. As though it were an heirloom to be passed on - words of both wisdom and condemnation. It is what it is, but it's your fault. Yeah, yeah, but what's new? Shaj Mathew has written a short little … Continue reading “Literature is dying,” says the parents to their children
“If you ever get the feeling that you’ve lost touch with everyday John Doe reality …”
Thumbing through my copy of The Proud Highway: A Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman 19655-1967 (1997), which is the first volume of "The Fear and Loathing Letters" of Hunter S. Thompson (edited by Douglas Brinkley), I came across something the late Gonzo journalist had written about the stresses of unemployment that I think could serve … Continue reading “If you ever get the feeling that you’ve lost touch with everyday John Doe reality …”
Father to OccupyMN: The Farmer-Labor Association and the “Farmer-Labor Leader” Newspaper
The last several weeks have seen me whisked away to the archives of the University of Minnesota Morris where I have been researching the Minnesota Power Line Controversy of the 1970s (these archives have a really good collection of documents one will not find at the state's historical society; wiki). Sifting through hundreds of pages … Continue reading Father to OccupyMN: The Farmer-Labor Association and the “Farmer-Labor Leader” Newspaper
The Typewriter: Without Distraction or the Twitch of Alt+Tab
It is easy to condescendingly dismiss those who insist on hand-writing their letters, resist digital photography and are incapable of writing even so much as a grocery list on their laptop. There is kind of a natural reaction to comment on how "picky" or "whiny" they are being without considering how hard it truly is … Continue reading The Typewriter: Without Distraction or the Twitch of Alt+Tab
More Christian than the Christians
Upon researching the fact that England’s Deputy-Prime Minister Nick Clegg (and University of Minnesota alum) is an avowed Atheist I came across an August 2010 article that explains quite well why Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot were not. It begins with a quote by an Anglican Archbishop named Peter Jensen: "Last century we tried godlessness … Continue reading More Christian than the Christians
Joshua Panduro Preston 