Tom Wolfe:
An intellectual is a person who is knowledgeable in one field but speaks out only in others.
December 31, 2011
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Putting it in perspective. Wish I knew who to credit this to, besides 2000+ people on Facebook. Hope it spreads far and wide.
July 2, 2011
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Spotted by a reader in a Florida public library.
(via dbreunig)
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"When we were fighting AIDS, hunger, water shortages, global warming, and so on, there always seemed to be time to reflect, to postpone decisions (recall how the main conclusion of the last meeting of world leaders in Bali, hailed as a success, was that they would meet again in two years to continue their talks …). But with the financial meltdown, the urgency to act was unconditional; sums of an unimaginable magnitude had to be found immediately. Saving endangered species, saving the planet from global warming, saving AIDS patients and those dying for lack of funds for expensive treatments, saving the starving children … all this can wait a little bit. The call to “save the banks!” by contrast, is an unconditional imperative that must be met with immediate action. The panic was so absolute that a transnational and non-partisan unity was immediately established, all grudges between world leaders being momentarily forgotten in order to avert the catastrophe. But what the much praised “bi-partisan” approach effectively meant was that even democratic procedures were de facto suspended: there was no time to engage in proper debate, and those who opposed the plan in the US Congress were quickly made to fall in with the majority. Bush, McCain and Obama all quickly got together, explaining to confused congressmen and women that there was simply no time for discussion – we were in a state of emergency, and things simply had to be done fast … And let us also not forget that the sublimely enormous sums of money were spent not on some clear “real” or concrete problem, but essentially in order to restore confidence in the markets, that is, simply to change people’s beliefs! Do we need any further proof that Capital is the Real of our lives, a Real whose imperatives are much more absolute than even the most pressing demands of our social and natural reality?"
- Slavoj Žižek (via azspot)
(via azspot)
June 5, 2011
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Sometimes I feel the urge to add dinosaurs to cnn.com. I’ve talked about this before. Deal.
April 23, 2011
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I am not riding this bus
March 25, 2011
- "This should be our national anthem"
March 23, 2011
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112 Gripes About The French
This is a manual for U.S. soldiers serving in post-WWII France. It debunks many myths about the French that persist. I found this long ago and lost it. Glad I found it again (only took 10 minutes of googling!)
March 21, 2011
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(via hashtag--swag)
March 5, 2011
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“Mr. Corleone is a man who insists on hearing bad news immediately.”
