WendyMcElroy.com: No natural harmony of interest in society
Well I’m sure not every single one of us is lee=ss free than our grandparents (or great grandparents), but this short blog post from Wendy McElroy brings up the point that human civilization has tended toward more freedom, and the guarantee of our basic equal human rights, throughout history–until the 20th century, where rights are no longer guaranteed, but legal walls have been put up to separate classes of people–by race sex, what have you–and rights have been replace by state-imposed privilege, and entitlement.
I think that we’re definitely in Heinlein’s “Crazy Years”, he nailed that one just about right.
The only thing I like about the Xmas season
Twas the night before Xmas
Henry Rollins reads “Twas the Night Before Cristmas”, complete with machine guns, helicopters, and explosions.
++ BALKAN BEAT BOX ++
++ BALKAN BEAT BOX ++
New world music stuff, with a mid-east flavor from ex Gogol Bordello member Ori Kaplan, and others. Cool stuff. I’ve loved GB since I found out about them a few years ago. Balkan Beat Box is just as good, but not quite as punk, it seems. Check ’em out.
(Via Lost at E Minor)
World Mysteries – Strange Artifacts, The Stone Spheres of Costa Rica
More on “The Stone Spheres of Costa Rica”.
There seems to have been a lot of speculation about these since they were found, but this article cuts through the myths.
And More.
We’ve Got Big Balls
An interesting article from Natural History magazine, about perfect stone balls found in Costa Rica, in the 1950’s. The article is by an archeologist’s wife, and details the discovery, and explorations of these objects. I like that the article is from a non-scientist’s point of view, which gives us more insight into the process, than we may have had otherwise.
I’d like to know if anything else has been discovered about these in the intervening years.
Punk Rock Test
I am 75% Punk Rock.
I am PUNK AS FUCK! The model punk. I care not for anything. I kick ass, but probably smell really bad.
I think I lost points because I’ve never punched out a cop, and I own a car.
Tortured Artist
By way of Art News Blog
I am 53% Tortured Artist.
Art is significant in my life, people are scum but I have the capicity to deal with it. Give it a few more years and I will either forget about art or hate the world.
Algae Power
A different approach to powering your home, than my previous nuclear battery one, over at Geoff Manaugh’sBLDGBLOG. Growing algae in balloons, in a way that makes it produce mucho H2. Some beautiful renderings of the project (it’s an urban design project in Iceland), and some commentary from Geoff about how depressing it is that we go to these lengths to, basically, just keep on doing what we’re already doing, instead of trying to change the fundamentals of our society.
Growing algae to produce power is an interesting concept, but really it’s useless without designing communities that use less energy. People just don’t seem to believe in frugality any more, and that’s what we need to return to.
And, no I’m not a hippy, preaching back to the land, and such, because, damnit, I love my tech, and my Schtufff, but with 6 billion people (is that right) on this planet, we really need to figure something out, don’t we?
Your very own Nuclear battery
Actually it only comes in a size that will power 25,000 homes, but hey, in Maine it would only take 20, or 30 to power the whole state. The manufacturer calls it a “battery” and not a reactor, since there’s no moving parts, and it doesn’t require an operator.
Nuke to the Future for the article about it. Here’s the website for Hyperion, the manufacturer.
OF SOUND AND VISION – The Online Portfolio of Alex Cherry
Cool digital art by Alex Cherry
Intolerance
Many of his titles are from songs (including Rage against the Machine, and Radiohead) and interpretations of said songs.
He also has a deviant art page where you can buy prints.