Is this the right room for an argument?
Labelling is a rather strange tactic in argument; it’s popular but weak and mostly a poor tactic because of the ease with which it can be dragged into verbal nihilism. [Read more…]
From “Applied Eugenics” by Paul Popenoe, 1918 (MacMillan)
The United States birth-rate may, on its face, appear high enough; but its face does not show that this height is due largely to the fecundity of immigrant women. Statistics to prove this are given in Chapter XIII, but may be supplemented here by some figures from Pittsburgh.
I spend a lot of time on airplanes, usually asleep. Not because it’s restful but because I have long legs and going into a trance is the easiest way to cope with the discomfort.
On my way out to LA, I woke up to change the mix in my music player, and looked out the window:
A Universal God Should Have Created a Universal Religion
Jean Meslier
Divinity has revealed itself in the different parts of our globe in a manner of such little uniformity, that in matters of religion men look upon each other with hatred and disdain. The partisans of the different sects see each other very ridiculous and foolish.
I’m out in LA for a wedding and needed an appropriate present for the bride. So: 12″ acrylic lamp globe, $29 on ebay, 1/4″ ABS plastic cut plug, 1/4″ ABS plastic base piece, water, cosmetic mica, acrylic glue.
I’m going to do a couple of postings about causality, because it seems to me that how humans experience causality is of paramount importance to a lot of ideas such as “free will”, responsibility, and knowledge.
Presenting a philosophical framework in which to defend these ideas, however, is beyond me – so I’m going to approach the discussion casually, and I’ll be less rigorous about terminology than I’d have to be if I were going to try to defend my thoughts against a full-on skeptical enquiry.
Since some of my comrades here on FTB seem to be posting pictures of birds, I thought I’d offer some footage from my bedroom window a few years ago. It started when the Turkey Committee chair convened the meeting, and rapidly got out of hand. I was on a conference call for about an hour and a half, and the turkeys kept up this level of activity the whole time.
“Aiming to open up access to space technology, protect Earth from cosmic threats and foster peace, proposals for a new space nation have been unveiled”
I had a brainfart the other day, when someone said something about “the commentariat” over at FtB.
So I made the commentariat a logo.
Hugo Award-nominated surrealist poet/author and martial arts grandmaster Chuck Tingle live-tweeted the vice-presidential debates using his own particular spin on reality. It’s an improvement, though there’s a great deal of gratuitous wand-polishing. Actually, there was at the debate, too.
Adult surrealism below the fold.