Perspective only a click away.

Granted the cost of goods is different, blah blah etc. blah, but this idea has its uses - Global Rich List

Dennett, Dawkins and Pinker! Oh My!

Richard Dawkins - Monday I started listening to The God Delusion.
Steven Pinker - Wednesday I went to a lecture he gave on thought and metaphor.
Daniel C. Dennett - Thursday I watched a dvd lecture about free will.
What a wonderfully thoughtful week so far. :D

(Bonus laugh for those of you who watch The Colbert Report regularly)

Why God Would Never Receive Tenure

1. He only had one publication, with no references and it was not published in a refereed journal.

2. It is doubtful that he wrote it himself.

3. His cooperative efforts have been limited.

4. The scientific community has not been able to replicate his results.

5. He did not receive REB approval for use of human subjects.

6. When his first experiment failed, he tried to cover it up by drowning the subjects.

7. When subjects did not behave as predicted he deleted them from his sample.

8. He rarely went to class, he just told students to read the book.

9. Some say he had his son teach his class for him.

10. His office hours are infrequent and typically held in unreasonable locations (e.g. mountaintop).

U.S. urges 'fivefold expansion' in Alberta oilsands production

Zee environmental plot for Heir Harper thickens.
CBC has the story.

Democracy?

Recently, I've been interested in how much a government follows the will of its people. Often, a government that does not is said to be a democratic failure. Below is an excerpt from a Toronto Star article; the entire article can be viewed here.

Polls have shown six in 10 Americans would oppose an escalation of the war.

"The president will not shape policy according to public opinion, but he does understand that it's important to bring the public back to this war and restore public confidence and support for the mission," said his spokesperson, Tony Snow.

The boldening is my emphasis as I wanted to draw attention to that phrase. Picture another leader doing the same thing and think about how other countries would react.

(Additionally, know that most Americans want universal health care, less money spent on military and more spent to end poverty. Yet, of course, these policies are not 'politically' viable.')

Celluloid Distraction

Over the holidays I finally had some time (and inclination) to catch up on movies that I didn't see in theatres. As most were borrowed, taped or only cost $2.50, I found the expense worthwhile. Keep in mind I avoid previews so I usually only know the genre of the film I'm going to see.
My basic reviews - Go/No go:


Clerks 2 -Terrible. Kevin, wtf? No go.
MI: III - Good fluff. Tom's a twit but on screen he succeeds. Go.
Lucky Number Sleven - I quite enjoyed this one. Go.
The Black Dahlia - Ugh. What a mess (plot wise). No Go.
Little Miss Sunshine - Good little flick. Child beauty pageants are disgusting! Go.
12 Angry Men (1957 version) - Now here is a character driven movie. Go.
A Christmas Story - You know what it is. Go.
16 Blocks - Suspenseful and entertaining. Go.
The Protector (sequel to Ang Bak) - Terrible plot but amazing moves. Go.
V for Vendetta - V for very well done. Action AND ideas? Go.
SuperSizeMe - Better than I expected. Go.

Happy New Year

Use your next rotation around the glowing ord wisely.
;)