it's been a while, that's true, and that time will probably not lead to a greater posting frequency but I will do it more often and here's a starting point: all the things I 'learned' in the very unique place that I called home for 15 years (in no particular order--I report, you decide):1. All religions are equal2. all people ...
Are always politically inconvenient, witness Nordic model exponent, Sweden:"Malmo’s mayor, Mr. Reepalu, believes jobs and schooling are critical, though he notes with disappointment that as soon as a school has more than about 20 percent immigrants, Swedish parents take their children out." ...
according to the Near West End News, does not sound like this:Let's start handing 0ut copies of "A Renegade History of the United States." Yes, not only are there white people at UR but both Simon & Garfunkel ARE white as well!! Fight the oppression!!!! ...
I do have an answer to this question. It is not that writing brings release, relief, psychic salve or solutions. It is not that writing daily makes one a better writer. It is that reading for hours on end, needing endless amounts of carbohydrates to extend attention span, makes the onset of Type 2 diabetes ever more real and proximate. ...
Richmond is not Chicago nor is it Washington D.C. In those cities, it was previously not possible to carry a handgun on your person, let alone in a bar.In both D.C. and Chicago it was most memorably racial and sexual minorities who were litigants or public supporters of efforts to overturn gun bans: Tom Palmer, a middle-aged gay libertarian in ...
Thanks, River District News, for the FYI. After the world's experience of seeing awareness raised about the suffering of poor/brown/heathen peoples the world round, the ongoing depredation of the rainforest, bigots coming to town and thousands of other relatively worthy causes, it never fails to amaze me that this trick works for the nth time. Awareness does not translate into ...
Shorter Shukla: "Hinduism and Sikhism are as much a way of life as anything else. By acknowledging the fact that they were raised by Hindus and Sikhs, both Haley and Jindal have somehow disavowed Hinduism and Sikhism in a way which will make me cry sweet, truculent, Augustus-Gloop-in-the-chocolate-river, tears. Waah!" ...
'cuz Robin Hanson said so. Robin is a freakishly smart thinker with a habit of questioning small claims piecemeal. Here is a meditation on how 'shy' can be an asset to the shy AND not-so-shy.Why Be Shy: "Many people are shy. Shy folks are not only easily embarrassed, they are also embarrassed by the fact that they are easily embarrassed. ...
Andrea Miller, no doubt an honest and earnest person, pens this guide to appreciating and dating, "indian men." What general image she associates with "indian men" I can only guess but I'm thinking it has dark skin and, well, "Apus" like Apu.Miller unpacks several problems I face while navigating Vestern Dating World but rather than go into them in detail, ...
There are many things that young people like to put on their resumes: internships, prior work experience (ha!), education and professional designations. One thing that they do not commonly include is their involvement in an organization seeking to starve poor Sri Lankans (page 24) in an effort to "coerce" the Sri Lankan government into acting responsibly with regards to it's ...
First, I suggest you read the recent NYT Sunday Mag story. This is the first time in years I have had the patience (and time) to read anything regarding M.I.A. out of the certainty that disgust would soon overwhelm my compulsion to gather more information.What is M.I.A.? A few years ago, back in the days of obsessively reading and commenting ...
http://reason.com/blog/2010/04/23/first-annual-everybody-draw-moI posted this link to a defense of Reason magazine-initiated symbolic action to my Facebook page. The response was limited but of a popular variety. I'll summarize below:Questioner: "Except this is meant to be a slap on the face, no? Are you suggesting everyone must view religion as a Hindu (this is an inside reference, not a truth statement) would?"and ...
Units: Activists, Advocates, FundamentalistsMultiplier: Commitment, or "C" where "C" measures the relative amount of a unit's time, money or other resources devoted to said cause, ideology or identity.Results:--Advocates x C = Activists--Activists x C = FundamentalistsWhere "C" is living , how and where you firmly believe or 'know' is right--and apart from Society--an Activist can become a fundamentalist. An Advocate ...
I was recently accused of not being someone's 'type' based on a few lines of emailed text and a few photos, both flattering and not, of yours truly. Not, "you're face is too fat" or "you have no chin" or even "I don't do mud people" but a phrase I associate with novels about highschool social dynamics.Of all the terrible ...
Some of you may remember the Westboro Baptist Church's visit to Richmond. It was marked by counter-protests, a great deal of righteous exclamations, some excellent fund-raising and the predictable climax--something less than one would be lead to believe if all one read was the righteous exclamations.Life In the 804 posted some thoughts regarding the utility of counterprotesting people who thrive ...
A very guilty admission: I read the earnest and often illogically constructed arguments (however ultimately correct) at Feministing and Jezebel nearly every day. It goes well with The American Scene and Secular Right, and turns a bit rancid when digested with Racialicious and Think Progress (something about intersectionality in rights-based discourse gives this trailer-raised-from-grinding-poverty male somewhat of an acid-reflux type ...
Since the beginning of the speech code era, it's been prudent to avoid saying words like "niggardly" in reference to stinginess or "niggle" in reference to minor injuries for fear of being mistaken for Rosie O'Donnell doing her best impression of Suzie Wong.Since that time, Richmond has attracted many fervent believers in the 'progressive' tradition who may or may not ...
Engaging with the arguments put forward here would require a tendentious and incredibly long post which would eat up so many of my productive hours that those fools Going Galt would find a very low price for Envy futures.The premise is striking, though, as it required citing greenpeace against nuclear power on a hydro-favorable island--perhaps the oddest conjunction of mendacious ...
My first thoughts on hearing the news were intemperate and rude:Heterodox economists, those more generally sympathetic to maverick Padres rising up against the State, are being forced out after decades of telling neoclassical economists to suck it. A most maudlin exit for these cool fellows is no surprise--they are the dumbly gaping horse-trader aghast at the somehow threatening but also ...