zen-y

"Interrogators pumped detainees full of so much water that the CIA turned to a special saline..."

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:59:52 -0500

“

Interrogators pumped detainees full of so much water that the CIA turned to a special saline solution to minimize the risk of death, the documents show.

The CIA’s waterboarding regimen was so excruciating, the memos show, that agency officials found themselves grappling with an unexpected development: detainees simply gave up and tried to let themselves drown.

”

- Waterboarding for dummies - Torture - Salon.com. Systematically criminal. Thanks to Ken for the link.

(via curvedwhite)

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:59:51 -0500

(via curvedwhite)

Save Me a Saturday Night -Neil Diamond Golly. Probably my...

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:35:58 -0500

Save Me a Saturday Night -Neil Diamond

Golly. Probably my favorite of his new stuff.

So simple, so sweet.

"Russia’s Federal Space Agency may try to deflect Apophis, the 880-megaton asteroid that can..."

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 12:51:07 -0500

“Russia’s Federal Space Agency may try to deflect Apophis, the 880-megaton asteroid that can bring hell to Earth (for comparison, the total power of the entire deployed US nuclear arsenal is around 1,400 Megatons).”

- Russia Considering Mission to Deflect Apophis - Gizmodo. Awesome. April 2029 is one possible date, and I love Type O Negative’s take on it.

comicallyvintage: How corridor meetings work. Looks like a...

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:04:51 -0500

comicallyvintage:

How corridor meetings work.

Looks like a scene from ‘Mad Men’ to me.

SCHAFT 【COLD LIGHT-Keim】 Great side project from...

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:01:51 -0500

SCHAFT 【COLD LIGHT-Keim】

Great side project from KMFDM/PIG’s Raymond Watts. Wish this stuff was easier to find in the U.S.

Ancient Hebrew conception of the known Universe. FFFFOUND! |...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:40:54 -0500

Ancient Hebrew conception of the known Universe.

FFFFOUND! | 4077736695_6474d6ac79_o.jpg (Image JPEG, 800x1131 pixels)

David and I are celebrating our fifth show, with a sixth...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:20:00 -0500

David and I are celebrating our fifth show, with a sixth recording on Monday - hopefully with a Mac/Newton hero of mine.

Grab the iTunes link, and thanks for listening.

[Above: A little flyer I made to learn how to do the double stamp thingy in Photoshop.]

fuckyeanintendo: Bill fuckin’ Murray on Letterman discussing...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:30:51 -0500

fuckyeanintendo:

Bill fuckin’ Murray on Letterman discussing The Ghostbusters game development.

FFFFOUND! | this isn’t happiness.™ Peter Nidzgorski,...

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:49:05 -0500

FFFFOUND! | this isn’t happiness.™ Peter Nidzgorski, tumblr

Newton Poetry — On my Mac hobby

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:47:55 -0500

Newton Poetry — On my Mac hobby:

Sometimes I feel like I need to defend my Mac collection. Not any more.

FFFFOUND! | The Rejectionist: Today’s Font Joke

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:47:51 -0500

FFFFOUND! | The Rejectionist: Today’s Font Joke

gamefreaksnz: via s-ec-sm.buzzfeed.com Pacanormal Activity

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:50:50 -0500

gamefreaksnz:

via s-ec-sm.buzzfeed.com

Pacanormal Activity

“Washington was a typical American. Napoleon was a...

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:23:54 -0500

“Washington was a typical American. Napoleon was a typical Frenchman, but Lincoln was a humanitarian as broad as the world.” - Leo Tolstoy

Two years ago, I began a study of the American Revolution as a way to get more in touch with my country’s remarkable history. The story of Franklin and Jefferson and of Washington’s legendary military career filled me with hope during an ugly election season.

The lesson in American history was capped by a pilgrammage through New England, where I visited the stages where great minds performed the story of our nation’s birth. I wept at the grave of Benjamin Franklin, and I looked out over Washington Rock and played out the story for myself.

The Revolution is still my favorite American story, but my knowledge of the Civil War, and of President Lincoln, remained cloudy. It stayed cloudy, that is, until I finished “Team of Rivals,” the wonderful book by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Subtitled “The political genius of Abraham Lincoln,” the book told the story of Lincoln and his political rivals up to and during his tragically-short presidential term. In the meantime, it also gave me a great understanding of the Civil War: how it started, how it progressed, and how it - thankfully - ended.

“Team of Rivals” also cemented Lincoln as truly our greatest president. Without a doubt.

I’ve long been a fan of Harry S. Truman, Thomas Jefferson, and Teddy Roosevelt for their contributions to our country. Truman was a plain speaker, and, like Lincoln, a man from modest roots. Teddy did more to ensure this country remained a fair and beautiful place than any before him. Jefferson built the philosophical and moral roots of America. But it’s Lincoln who sits deservedly at the head of great presidents.

Lincoln’s fair-mindedness, his ability to quell political controversies, his wisdom and patience regarding emancipation, his bravery in assigning his political rivals to his cabinet, his good-natured way with poeple and conversation, his heroic place in the mind of the troops who served him - they all make a great and humble man. He’s a great representative for the American ideal. Today, there is no one in the public sphere like him.

Goodwin’s book does the man justice, and gives a broad and detailed look at what was taking place in Lincoln’s time. Forget terrorism; the question of slavery and the Civil War were the greatest threats to America in our history. Yet Lincoln steered the ship of state like a pro, saving the Union and - despite doubts at the time - emerging a hero. Then, today, and forever, Lincoln deserves the title.

His rivals, who became the Secretaries of State and the Treasury and War among others, grew to love him as the nation did. As school children, who only know of “Honest Abe” and his historic Emancipation, love him today.

Tolstoy found that tribal natives living in the mountains of Russia revered Lincoln like no other great figure. Ulysses S. Grant, who served as General-in-Chief and helped win the Civil War under Lincoln, called him the greatest man he ever knew.

We all have this foggy notion of Lincoln as a Great President. We know of his humble roots and tragic death, and a few of the details in the middle, but “Team of Rivals” clears up the story in a way I appreciated.

Photo via FFFFOUND!

Mad Season - River Of Deceit While great in Alice in Chains,...

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:23:53 -0500

Mad Season - River Of Deceit

While great in Alice in Chains, Layne really shined in Mad Season. One of those one-off bands we’ll never see again, unfortunately.

"I would have paid good money to watch GWBush debating a roomful of Democratic leaders for hours. Or..."

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:22:52 -0500

“I would have paid good money to watch GWBush debating a roomful of Democratic leaders for hours. Or even 30 minutes.”

- Twitter / Roger Ebert: I would have paid good mon …

staff: To organize all of the new Reply, Ask, and Submit...

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:40:52 -0500

staff:

To organize all of the new Reply, Ask, and Submit options we’re building, we just added this “Community” menu to the Customize page.

You’ll see a new option to “Allow replies from people following you for more than two weeks.”

Enabling replies for blogs other than your primary one is almost finished!

This, strangely enough, comes just in time for a business proposal I’m working on. In the meantime, let’s try it out. Ask me anything.

curvedwhite: “Ruination” by Erin Hanson

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:18:51 -0500

curvedwhite:

“Ruination” by Erin Hanson

STEREO MC’S - conected Seems a bit sped up. For the...

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:17:53 -0500

STEREO MC’S - conected

Seems a bit sped up. For the Spanish-speaking crowd, maybe? Anyway, one of the best songs of the ’90s.

"Why do the vast snow plains give us pleasure, the twilight of the bent and half-buried..."

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:23:51 -0500

“Why do the vast snow plains give us pleasure, the twilight of the bent and half-buried woods?…Are we not cheered by the sight? And does not all this amount to the track of a higher life than the otter’s, a life which has not gone by and left a footprint merely, but is there with its beauty, its music, its perfume, its sweetness, to exhilarate and recreate us?”

- Henry David Thoreau, from Seeing Beyond the Verge of Sight