03 2 / 2012
"The Internet has co-opted the word “browse” for its own purposes, but it’s worth pointing out the difference between browsing in a virtual realm and browsing in the actual world. Depending on the terms entered, an Internet search engine will usually come up with hundreds, thousands, or millions of hits, which a person can then skate through, clicking when she sees something that most closely echoes her interest. It is a curious quality of the Internet that it can be composed of an unfathomable multitude and, at the same time, almost always deliver to the user the bits that feed her already-held interests and confirm her already-held beliefs. It points to a paradox that is, perhaps, one of the most critical of our time: To have access to everything may be to have nothing in particular. After all, what good does this access do if we can only find our way back to ourselves, the same selves, the same interests, the same beliefs over and over? Is what we really want to be solidified, or changed? If solidified, then the Internet is well-designed for that need. But, if we wish to be changed, to be challenged and undone, then we need a means of placing ourselves in the path of an accident. For this reason, the plenitude may narrow the mind. Amazon may curate the world for you, but only by sifting through your interests and delivering back to you variations on your well-rehearsed themes: Yes, I do love Handke! Yes, I had been meaning to read that obscure play by Thomas Bernhard! A bookstore, by contrast, asks you to scan the shelves on your way to looking for the thing you had in mind. You go in meaning to buy Hemingway, but you end up with Homer instead. What you think you like or want is not always what you need. A bookstore search inspires serendipity and surprise."
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20 1 / 2012
“In the Central Portion of the great North American Continent there lies an arid and repulsive desert, for which many a long year served as the barrier against the advancement of civilization.”-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet.
20 1 / 2012
Global Policy Forum: The Hidden Veto
On Tuesday, October 4th, 2011 Russia and China cast a double veto blocking the US and European backed draft condemning Syria for its brutal crackdown on citizen protests. Many news outlets have sensationalized this moment, emphasizing that the veto has rarely been used since the end of the Cold…
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16 1 / 2012
I watch Glee for:
- Lea Michele.
- The cast.
- The music.
- Lea Michele’s voice.
- Jonathan Groff appearances.
- The amazing, beautiful, hilarious, talented cast.
- Lea Michele Sarfati.
I do not watch Glee for:
- The “storylines.”
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13 12 / 2011
Sandusky Lawyer Mistakenly Gives Out Phone Sex Hotline
At one point, Amendola told reporters it was unrealistic to think that Penn State officials were told by assistant coach Mike McQueary about Sandusky’s alleged rape of a young boy in 2002 and did nothing about it.
“I suggest you dial 1-800-REALITY,” Amendola quipped.
The sports website Deadspin quickly called the number, and reported that it was a phone sex service that charges 99 cents a minute and specializes in pornography for gay and bisexual callers.
Hilarious.
(via theweekmagazine)
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07 12 / 2011
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06 12 / 2011
"We need to ask ourselves, “How would it feel if it were a crime to love the person I love?"
Hillary Clinton
related: U.S. makes first-ever push for gay rights abroad
(via socalfeminist)
(Source: newwavefeminism, via socalfeminist)
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06 12 / 2011
Is that a toe where your thumb should be…?
Twenty-nine-year-old carpenter James Byrne accidently sawed off his left thumb. Surgeons managed to reattach his severed digit, but he never regained use of it despite months of treatment. So Byrne’s doctors made an unusual suggestion: Why not replace his thumb with his big toe instead? He said yes, and the surgery was a success. The toe-thumb even has a name. It’s Toby.
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04 12 / 2011
I’m a walking contradiction.
Part of me is still that little girl who dreams of boys who open doors and being Mrs. somebody one day and the other part of me is like, “Fuck you, I can open my own door and I already have a name, so you can forget me taking part in the continuation of this patriarchal, male-dominated society bullshit.” No, but seriously how do I function?
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