Archives for July 2008
At the boundary of the species
Stephen Law posts an essay on Speciesism, Potential and Normality, largely as a response to the defense of human uniqueness presented by Roger Scruton.1 This is nothing that Peter Singer hasn’t already dealt with, but Stephen’s reasoning is entirely correct.… continue reading »
Words per minute #5: Abbs on Living
He lives well who lives lightly, hoards nothing, lets go the air he breathes— to draw in more. – Peter Abbs, The Flowering of Flint
One step forward, one step back
Last week: Britain and the US have condemned Russia and China for vetoing a draft UN Security Council resolution to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe’s leaders. Particularly amusing was UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband saying the veto “would appear incomprehensible to… continue reading »
What’s wrong with this picture?
Many technotopian scenarios can be described as “the geek will inherit the earth”. The most recent example of two rich white men wearing heavy-rimmed glasses pontificating about how indispensable they’re going to be after the apocalypse recently appeared on boingboing… continue reading »
Caring too much about timelords
Continuing the televisual theme of the previous post, is it possible to care too much about Doctor Who? Lawrence Miles says no! The following 25-point programme may not be a way of guaranteeing that Doctor Who is great – only… continue reading »
I got your dramatic tension right here
Like every white person1, I like The Wire. Okay, I think The Wire is the best television series ever made. To demonstrate this, I am prepared to fight you if it becomes necessary. In an interview towards the end of… continue reading »
You are what you eat
So while I was plastering around an electrical socket, I thought to myself, “Gypsum. I wonder what gypsum is”. Gypsum, my friends, is calcium sulfate dihydrate, a naturally occurring chemical with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. Calcium sulfate is also “The… continue reading »