2019 archive
Geeking Out 0
The Plasma desktop environment with the QMMP media player using a legacy Winamp skin playing The Mystery of 31 New Inn by R. Austin Freeman on Ubuntu MATE on a Zareason Mediabox. The GKrellM system monitor is in the lower right corner. Swisswatch provides the analog clock.
The Meme Chance 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Ira Hyman muses on the attractions and dangers of internet memes, particularly those that combine a picture with some text. Among other thoughts, he suggests that they make falsehoods digestible.
Here’s an excerpt:
I’ve read a very nice statement about being stardust that was attributed to Einstein and placed with a picture of the physicist. But Einstein never made the statement. Or consider this Socrates meme. Again, a lovely quote attributed to a famous thinker. And there’s no evidence that Socrates ever said anything like that. These fake quotes attach one idea to a well-known person and give the quote more validity. Nonetheless, these memes remain out there and I’ve seen several similar fake quotes in my social media feed.
I commend the entire piece to your attention.
A Poem, Not by Henry Gibson 0
(Warning: Some mild language.)
News with a Bias Cut 0
Shorter Jenice Anderson: Persons who complain about biased political reporting often can’t tell the difference between fact and opinion.
Follow the link for the evidence.
Land Grab 0
James Conaway explores the reasons behind the Trump administration’s decision to relocate senior Bureau of Land Management officials to Grand Junction, Colorado. The administration’s rationale argues that the officials need to be closer to the land that they manage. Conaway is skeptical.
A snippet:
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Be polite when you patronize your local purveyor of accelerated caloric input.