Google Scholar now indexes U.S. laws and court decisions. W00T!
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/finding-laws-that-govern-us.html
Scholarly. FTW.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Like what?
Totally like whatever, you know?
By Taylor Mali
www.taylormali.com
In case you hadn't noticed,
it has somehow become uncool
to sound like you know what you're talking about?
Or believe strongly in what you're saying?
Invisible question marks and parenthetical (you know?)'s
have been attaching themselves to the ends of our sentences?
Even when those sentences aren't, like, questions? You know?
Declarative sentences - so-called
because they used to, like, DECLARE things to be true
as opposed to other things which were, like, not -
have been infected by a totally hip
and tragically cool interrogative tone? You know?
Like, don't think I'm uncool just because I've noticed this;
this is just like the word on the street, you know?
It's like what I've heard?
I have nothing personally invested in my own opinions, okay?
I'm just inviting you to join me in my uncertainty?
What has happened to our conviction?
Where are the limbs out on which we once walked?
Have they been, like, chopped down
with the rest of the rain forest?
Or do we have, like, nothing to say?
Has society become so, like, totally . . .
I mean absolutely . . . You know?
That we've just gotten to the point where it's just, like . . .
whatever!
And so actually our disarticulation . . . ness
is just a clever sort of . . . thing
to disguise the fact that we've become
the most aggressively inarticulate generation
to come along since . . .
you know, a long, long time ago!
I entreat you, I implore you, I exhort you,
I challenge you: To speak with conviction.
To say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks
the determination with which you believe it.
Because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker,
it is not enough these days to simply QUESTION AUTHORITY.
You have to speak with it, too.
See it on vimeo.
By Taylor Mali
www.taylormali.com
In case you hadn't noticed,
it has somehow become uncool
to sound like you know what you're talking about?
Or believe strongly in what you're saying?
Invisible question marks and parenthetical (you know?)'s
have been attaching themselves to the ends of our sentences?
Even when those sentences aren't, like, questions? You know?
Declarative sentences - so-called
because they used to, like, DECLARE things to be true
as opposed to other things which were, like, not -
have been infected by a totally hip
and tragically cool interrogative tone? You know?
Like, don't think I'm uncool just because I've noticed this;
this is just like the word on the street, you know?
It's like what I've heard?
I have nothing personally invested in my own opinions, okay?
I'm just inviting you to join me in my uncertainty?
What has happened to our conviction?
Where are the limbs out on which we once walked?
Have they been, like, chopped down
with the rest of the rain forest?
Or do we have, like, nothing to say?
Has society become so, like, totally . . .
I mean absolutely . . . You know?
That we've just gotten to the point where it's just, like . . .
whatever!
And so actually our disarticulation . . . ness
is just a clever sort of . . . thing
to disguise the fact that we've become
the most aggressively inarticulate generation
to come along since . . .
you know, a long, long time ago!
I entreat you, I implore you, I exhort you,
I challenge you: To speak with conviction.
To say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks
the determination with which you believe it.
Because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker,
it is not enough these days to simply QUESTION AUTHORITY.
You have to speak with it, too.
See it on vimeo.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
How Doth The Crocodile
From Alice in Wonderland:
----------------------
From Wikipedia:
"How Doth the Little Crocodile" is a parody of the moralistic poem "Against Idleness And Mischief" by Isaac Watts[1] (Alice was originally trying to recite that). Watts' poem begins "How doth the little busy bee," and uses a bee as a model of hard work. In Carroll's parody, the crocodile's corresponding "virtues" are deception and predation, themes which recur throughout Alice's adventures in both books, and especially in the poems.
Against Idleness And Mischief - Isaac Watts
How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!
How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws!
----------------------
From Wikipedia:
"How Doth the Little Crocodile" is a parody of the moralistic poem "Against Idleness And Mischief" by Isaac Watts[1] (Alice was originally trying to recite that). Watts' poem begins "How doth the little busy bee," and uses a bee as a model of hard work. In Carroll's parody, the crocodile's corresponding "virtues" are deception and predation, themes which recur throughout Alice's adventures in both books, and especially in the poems.
Against Idleness And Mischief - Isaac Watts
How doth the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour
And gather honey all the day
From every opening flower!
How skilfully she builds her cell!
How neat she spreads the wax!
And labours hard to store it well
With the sweet food she makes.
In works of labour or of skill,
I would be busy too;
For Satan finds some mischief still
For idle hands to do.
In books, or work, or healthful play,
Let my first years be passed,
That I may give for every day
Some good account at last.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Too Damn Cool
OK, this is just too cool. It is a chart which shows the relative size of cells, viruses, atoms, etc. Just move the slider to zoom in!
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/scale/
:-)
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/scale/
:-)
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Traveler by Ron McClarty
Traveler is a heart felt novel about a struggling actor rediscovering his home town and what happened to everyone after highschool. It is the kind of story which flashes between the past and present, and which illuminates the interesting contrast of how everyone's life looks so bright when they leave highschool, to the reality of what actually happens.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Man's Search for Meaning is an epic and the essential therapy book for modern times. Frankl asserts, correctly, that with the growing use of automation man's free time has expanded leaving us plenty of leisure hours to contemplate our own meaning.
Frankl asserts that almost anything can have meaning and it is all up to our attitude. A survivor of several concentration camps, Frankl attests how much choosing the right attitude and having something to live forr saved people's lives in the camps. Attitude and spirit had a lot to do with survival.
This leads Frankl to suggest that man finds meaning through suffering as well as through joy and love. Very true, how often do people put the cause or cross in their life for what they are living as the meaning in their lives, and how often would they be lost without their jobs/families/possestions/causes etc... for which they sacrifice all and for which they create their identity.
More than that, people can capitalize on the little injustices in life as a growth experience. The person who cut you off in traffic, the guy at work who just loves taking pot shots at you. These are all times to exercise forgiveness and be the best person you can be. You have the choice to remain calm and be good and not let useless anger consume your life.
This is a must read for anyone feeling lost in their lives.
Wikipedia entry (with quotes):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%27s_Search_for_Meaning
Frankl asserts that almost anything can have meaning and it is all up to our attitude. A survivor of several concentration camps, Frankl attests how much choosing the right attitude and having something to live forr saved people's lives in the camps. Attitude and spirit had a lot to do with survival.
This leads Frankl to suggest that man finds meaning through suffering as well as through joy and love. Very true, how often do people put the cause or cross in their life for what they are living as the meaning in their lives, and how often would they be lost without their jobs/families/possestions/causes etc... for which they sacrifice all and for which they create their identity.
More than that, people can capitalize on the little injustices in life as a growth experience. The person who cut you off in traffic, the guy at work who just loves taking pot shots at you. These are all times to exercise forgiveness and be the best person you can be. You have the choice to remain calm and be good and not let useless anger consume your life.
This is a must read for anyone feeling lost in their lives.
Wikipedia entry (with quotes):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%27s_Search_for_Meaning
Monday, September 21, 2009
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
I had not read a C.S. Lewis novel before, and as I was looking up quotes from him I was quite struck by the Christian element in his writing.
And so Till We Have Faces appears to be a book quite a lot about faith, but in a new way, in that is doesn't just endorse blind faith as a way of life, but tries to show how it can help people deal with the trials and injustices of life. The book itself is based on the story of Cupid and Psyche.
Lest there be any confusion, I myself am agnostic, yet after reading this book I am seriously considering taking up some form of belief and faith, just because it helps sweep so much unnecessary guilt/fretting/worrying under the rug. How helpful it is to believe something greater is working for you, that is what every human needs. And that is what this book shows.
And so Till We Have Faces appears to be a book quite a lot about faith, but in a new way, in that is doesn't just endorse blind faith as a way of life, but tries to show how it can help people deal with the trials and injustices of life. The book itself is based on the story of Cupid and Psyche.
Silent Prayer is my greatest Weapon- Mahatma Gandhi
Lest there be any confusion, I myself am agnostic, yet after reading this book I am seriously considering taking up some form of belief and faith, just because it helps sweep so much unnecessary guilt/fretting/worrying under the rug. How helpful it is to believe something greater is working for you, that is what every human needs. And that is what this book shows.
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