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

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Nobody likes a grammar scold, but it must be said: Ambiguity has a death grip on our syntax. The principles of effective speech are in tatters. Verbal chaos reigns...more

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
No species of animal outside of Homo sapiens rears the young of other species and supports them into old age. People love their pets...more

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
A woman walks into a male-dominated, money-losing start-up. Now Facebook turns a billion-dollar profit. What's the lesson?...more

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Looking for insight, Elizabeth Edwards is more likely to quote Ovid than the Gospels. From the Old Testament, she prefers the Book of Job, and no wonder... more

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
The media don’t shape the culture; they merely reflect it, giving rise to today’s common readers: Those who have fallen in love with their own mediocre taste...more

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Effective, irresponsible populism: Western European leaders find blaming multiculturalism useful because it is both vague and misdirected...more

Fragger via the How-To Geek by Asian Angel
The object of the game is simple. You are a grenade-throwing soldier on a mission to dispose of enemy troops as efficiently as possible.
When you click Play you can select from one of three difficulty levels to suit your mood.
Fragger comes with thirty levels of grenade throwing goodness.
And so it goes on
Play Fragger
Thirty levels of Fragger not enough for you? Then head on over to play the sequel!
Play Fragger – Lost City

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
When it comes to excavating the history of consumerism, never underestimate the value of a good dung-fork... more
Social history at its best!

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Evaluating evil. Between 1933 and 1945, 14 million civilians died in lands ruled by Stalin and Hitler. Does that diminish the singularity of the Holocaust?... more
The reviewer says that he had to close the book because he couldn’t bear to continue reading about the atrocities committed in the Ukraine in 1932-33. I found it difficult to even read the review.

via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
“Death to the Jews!” resounded in the courtyard of the École Militaire as medals were ripped off Capt. Alfred Dreyfus and his sabre broken in two... more
This is not a quick read and, unless you have studied this period in history, may tax your brain a bit but you learn something new every day (so they say).

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