The ingredients and history of pepper spray, including the arresting fact that the FBI agent who led the study that approved it as a method of crowd control had taken $57,000 from a pepper spray manufacturer: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/07/pepper-spray-science-and-history.html
After seeing the picture of that Brazilian woman being sprayed, you may be wondering what happened to her: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/i-was-brazil-woman-peppersprayed-in-face-says-protester-8667257.html
Dead Law Standing
Many states have some form of the "Stand Your Ground" law that most of us learned about only on the night George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin. It wasn't invoked during Zimmerman's criminal trial, but it may be at the center of a civil proceeding, if Martin's family chooses to call for one: http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2013/07/15/202418599/stand-your-ground-laws-under-scrutiny-post-zimmerman-verdict
For a lighter take on the law, see http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2013/07/florida-considers-eliminating-laws-altogether.html
For a lighter take on the law, see http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2013/07/florida-considers-eliminating-laws-altogether.html
The Nose Knows
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| GETTY IMAGES |
And, in case you missed it the first time around, here's my post about one of the most compelling (in a beautifully repulsive kind of way) books I know: http://somanyinterestingthings.blogspot.com/2013/04/just-because-perfume-story-of-murderer.html
For some ideas, see also http://somanyinterestingthings.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-novel-scent.html
Just Because: 'Brave New World Revisited'
In 1931, Aldous Huxley wrote his famous novel Brave New World (published in 1932). In 1958, he wrote a kind of update to it, which he called Brave New World Revisited. As prescient as BNW was, other than a few technical details, Revisited could have been written today (by certain writers; there are some points I don't really agree with):
In 1931, when Brave New World was being written, I was convinced that there was still plenty of time. The completely organized society, the scientific caste system, the abolition of free will by methodical conditioning, the servitude made acceptable by regular doses of chemically induced happiness, the orthodoxies drummed in by nightly courses of sleep-teaching—these things were coming all right, but not in my time, not even in the time of my grandchildren. I forget the exact date of the events recorded in Brave New World; but it was somewhere in the sixth or seventh century A.F. (After Ford). We who were living in the second quarter of the twentieth century A.D. were the
I
Over-Population
In 1931, when Brave New World was being written, I was convinced that there was still plenty of time. The completely organized society, the scientific caste system, the abolition of free will by methodical conditioning, the servitude made acceptable by regular doses of chemically induced happiness, the orthodoxies drummed in by nightly courses of sleep-teaching—these things were coming all right, but not in my time, not even in the time of my grandchildren. I forget the exact date of the events recorded in Brave New World; but it was somewhere in the sixth or seventh century A.F. (After Ford). We who were living in the second quarter of the twentieth century A.D. were the
It's Beer for Your Ears
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| Do not open immediately after playing! screen shot |
Mysterious Author Unmasked
In case you haven't heard, JK Rowling (author of the Harry Potter series) wrote a mystery book under a pseudonym, it's pretty good, it's now soaring up the charts, and another mystery is in the works. Not surprisingly, she says she had hoped to remain anonymous for a little while longer. So who figured out that "Robert Galbraith" was really she ~ and how? It took a little high-tech detective work: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23313074
A People Apart
from delanceyplace.com:
In today's selection - the Dogon people of Mali. Isolated high in the cliffs of Mali near the city of Bandiagara, you will find the Dogon people, who have one of the most distinctive cultures in the world. Although their religious icons, masks, sculptures and architecture have in some respects become representative of Africa, their distinctiveness came from their intense, centuries-long desire to separate themselves from the dangers of their world:
"We had chosen Bandiagara because all of the tour books had described the little town as the gateway to the homeland of the Dogon, a people fabled throughout West Africa for their flinty independence and unusual lifestyle. Their lore had spread so deeply into
In today's selection - the Dogon people of Mali. Isolated high in the cliffs of Mali near the city of Bandiagara, you will find the Dogon people, who have one of the most distinctive cultures in the world. Although their religious icons, masks, sculptures and architecture have in some respects become representative of Africa, their distinctiveness came from their intense, centuries-long desire to separate themselves from the dangers of their world:
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"We had chosen Bandiagara because all of the tour books had described the little town as the gateway to the homeland of the Dogon, a people fabled throughout West Africa for their flinty independence and unusual lifestyle. Their lore had spread so deeply into
Survivor: Airplane
Not to be a fear-monger or anything, but apparently, there are some things you can do to ensure a better chance of surviving a plane crash (not, I rush to add, that there are many of those): http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-ways-to-increase-your-odds-of-surviving-a-plane-crash.html?page=1
Twelve Syllables With Caesuras ~ Alexandrine
And here's what I learned this morning: The alexandrine is a form of poetry with 12 syllables per line. Technically, it should have a pause (a caesura) after the sixth, with the stress being on the sixth and the twelfth. Alternatively, a line can be divided into three four-syllable sections (see title of post, in case you hadn't noticed!). The form was named after Alexander the Great, about whom a poem was written in this style. It was most popular in French and German and, apparently, not so easy to do in English. One contemporary poet, however, has written a book in alexandrine (and you'll note that the title has six syllables). While there are 12 syllables in each line, she didn't bother with the stressed ones. Can't blame her for that.
from In This World of 12 Months
by Marcella Durand
Your voice carries easily through liquid; bridge is
halved by fog, as your tongue is divided in mist.
The fog of machinery augmented by steam.
Baby, It's Coal Outside (and In)
Is it possible that coal could have a future as a building material?: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2013/07/14/coal-doesnt-have-to-die-we-can-make-furniture-out-of-it/
His Fathers' Name
from wisegeek.com:
"Gerald Ford, the 38th president of the United States, was given the name Leslie Lynch King Jr. when he was born. He was named after his father, Leslie Lynch King. His mother, Dorothy Gardner King, and his father got divorced within six months after the birth in 1913, and she got remarried in 1916 to Gerald Rudolff Ford. After the marriage, Leslie Lynch King Jr. began being referred to as Gerald R. Ford, but he did not legally change
"Gerald Ford, the 38th president of the United States, was given the name Leslie Lynch King Jr. when he was born. He was named after his father, Leslie Lynch King. His mother, Dorothy Gardner King, and his father got divorced within six months after the birth in 1913, and she got remarried in 1916 to Gerald Rudolff Ford. After the marriage, Leslie Lynch King Jr. began being referred to as Gerald R. Ford, but he did not legally change
Got Candy?
I see that I am not the only one obsessed with Candy Crush. I am at once gratified (yay! I can keep playing!) and dismayed (oh, s#*&! I can keep playing!!) to learn that I have 356 levels to go before I get to the end of the game ... : http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/candy-crush-saga-is-this-summers-sweet-treat/
Second Coming
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| from physicsworld.com |
Which Quatorze Juillet?
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| the fête on the Champ de Mars |
Opera on the Road
Private ~ Keep Out
Along with all the news coming out lately about our lack of privacy ~ whether that came as a surprise or not ~ comes news of a Swedish company that's working on an instant messaging system that will be completely secure. It will be free, but they could use help at this phase ~ or not: Apparently, they're totally funded now! (story, video): http://www.droid-life.com/2013/07/11/heml-is-wants-your-help-in-creating-the-ultimate-minimal-yet-secure-instant-messaging-service/
For more details, check out their website: https://heml.is/
For more details, check out their website: https://heml.is/
The Mouse and He
On the shoulders of giants, indeed. Most of us may not be familiar with the name Douglas C. Engelbart, but we sure are with the invention of the man behind the moniker ~ in fact, we're all using it right now. The mouse. "Visionary" only begins to describe him, and "several light years behind" only begins to answer the question Where would we be without him?: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/04/technology/douglas-c-engelbart-inventor-of-the-computer-mouse-dies-at-88.html?pagewanted=all
Out of the Mouths of Babes
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| REUTERS/Brendan McDermid |
the
Paul Mathis has an idea, and that idea has a symbol: Ћ . It stands for "the," the most commonly used word in typing. So, Mathis suggests, why not add that symbol to the standard keyboard? Already, that would have saved me six keystrokes in this post alone (I'm counting the ~ oops! eight! ~ title)
(audio): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23270758
Storming the Mount
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| Matthieu Cabby et famille break out les couleurs. James Startt/Bicycling |
For the Tour de France cyclists, it's sure to be the best of times and the worst of times, as they will be climbing the torturous and extremely windy Mont Ventoux on Bastille Day ~ and remember, as this is the 100th Tour, a win this year is particularly meaningful: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/tour-de-france/10178212/Tour-de-France-2013-Chris-Froome-ready-for-epic-Bastille-Day-climb-on-Mont-Ventoux.html
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