Wednesday 20 July 2011

10 non-work-related items that I found fun or interesting

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
“We like to think that we live in a violent time. But violence has declined every millennium, every century, every decade,” says Stewart Brand. “The reduction in cruelty is astounding”...more

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Rigorous, disciplined, disarmingly unnatural – no artistic endeavour is more physically or psychologically demanding than ballet...more

Friday Fun from How-To Geek
Are you ready for some fun and adventure after a long week at work? Then grab your gear and get ready for action! In this week’s game you become a member of the Allied Republic of Critters and your job is to help squash the rebellion on Prison Planet and keep the humans from escaping before Admiral Alama arrives.
Play Battle Critters: Prison Planet
Play Battle Critters: Prison Planet (Alternative Link)

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Fairy tales literalize metaphor, lowering their glittering buckets deep into the psyche's well. Consider the worlds of the Brothers Grimm... more

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
If a tumor can make you a pedophile, is that your fault or your biology’s? Wrong question, says David Eagleman. They are inseparable... more
My own rules are that I should read only enough of an article to decide on inclusion or rejection (an entirely arbitrary thought process on my part). I broke the rules on this – it is fascinating.

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Ice and immortality. What exactly happens to a brain when it's pumped full of cryoprotectant chemicals and frozen at -124°C?... more

The Tree Nobody Wanted: perfect tree-side holiday reading
via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow
Tom McCann's delightful, sweet little book The Tree Nobody Wanted (link to Amazon.com) is a remembrance of a working-class Brooklyn Christmas in 1946. It's a perfect holiday read – something to curl up and read aloud in front of a fire or after a big dinner and reflect on the way that family, love and friendship can overcome so much.
Too late for Christmas 2010 but you could get it for Christmas 2011! I'd completely forgotten about this story until reminded by Mr Doctorow!

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
What makes a psychopath? It might in part be a deep, hard-wired inability to recognise the nature of a social contract... more

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Oliver Sacks again invites readers to explore the mysteries of the human mind with essays on people with drastically altered perceptions... more

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
At least since Athens clashed with Sparta, the relationship between ascendant nations and dominant powers has been marked by war. Why would China's rise be any different?... more


No comments: