Pepperpots.
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(2)
12:29:32 PM,
Tuesday 15 January 2008
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Will Monty Pythonesque crossdressing ever be as stigmatized as blackface? Should it be? Is there some essential difference between the two sorts of humor? About the only foundation for a justification I can find is gender differences are more substantive than racial differences, but I don't really want to build there, and even if I did, I don't really see how to get from that to the conclusion. (This is part of my ongoing musings about what are the things we find acceptable that will shock and appall our grandchildren)
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(47)
06:22:49 PM,
Monday 14 January 2008
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Reading about Anarcho-Capitalism, I came across Lysander Spooner, who is now my run-away favorite anarchist. He was a abolitionist and opponent of the war, who thought the constitution was voided by the civil war, and that natural law would somehow prevent monopolies, (I'm still a bit a bit vague on that) and tried to open a competitor to the post office. Also, Jury Nullification people have been around since the 19th century? Who knew? His beard, of course, speaks for itself.
In what may only be related in my own mind, the Naples garbage crisis is kind of staggering. Slate explains about the mob and trash, and digs up the eyepopping claim that 20% of italian companies are mafia-run. I'm really glad I live in a time and place where the government monopoly on violence is pretty much intact.
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12:44:06 PM,
Monday 14 January 2008
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Distortion by the Magnetic Fields, a stream of the whole album.
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(2)
11:01:09 AM,
Monday 14 January 2008
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The Clinton campaign has succeeded in making me unable to follow the presidential campaign as closely as I had been. The claim that, because he said he didn't know how he would have voted had he been at the closed briefings, but he didn't think the case had been made, he somehow flip-flopped on the war is utterly absurd, to the point of being insulting. It turns me off the democratic party and the whole proceedings, and that's before we get to the various race dog-whistles going off. I suppose it should make me more determined and likely to volunteer, but the sad truth is that it makes me want to ignore the whole thing. I don't know. Has this all made any of you more likely to vote for Clinton? Are you blissfully unaware?
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(16)
09:37:13 PM,
Sunday 13 January 2008
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For cats, shoes are like gyroscopes.
Bear with me for a moment.
My cat shows no interest in gyroscopes. They just don't fascinate him. He's more interested in the string. For me, the gyroscopee acts in a counterintuitive way. But it's counterintuitive to all sorts of physical intuitions that cats don't have. Meanwhile, shoes and paper bags are endlessly fascinating to cats. His intuition says that if a small furry thing goes into a hole, it must be where the furry things live. So even if he saw it go in and come back out again, he'll set up outside it. It's fascinating for him. aome for things poking the outside of a paper bag that he's inside. It triggers all sorts of intuitions about prey, at some level he probably knows it's just mee outside the bag, in the same way I understand about gyroscopes and inertia.
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09:26:22 PM,
Sunday 13 January 2008
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Mayor Menino tries to stop drugstore health clinics coming to Boston. On it's face, this is utterly insane: either the AMA has got to him, or there's something I don't understand going on here.
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(10)
05:26:47 PM,
Friday 11 January 2008
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Wait, Dave Barry is still alive?
It's like a 50-table restaurant with a big, varied menu, except that only two tables are allowed to order. If these two tables order clams, for example, or Michael Dukakis, that's what gets served to all the other tables._
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10:49:30 AM, Thursday 10 January 2008
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Hey, there's a fairly straightforward Religious Exemption to the Massachusetts health care mandate penalty(aka Schedule HC on the state tax form) That makes me feel a bit better about it. Also makes it less effectual, policywise, of course. Also, if you're eligible for Medicaid but not actually enrolled, you are exempt, which is good. Hopefully this will expand awareness of Medicaid and increase enrollment. But looking at this form, H&R Block is going to have a good year.
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(7)
03:41:10 PM,
Wednesday 9 January 2008
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The first two tracks from the new, aptly named Magnetic Fields album Distortion are up on iTunes. Three-Way is a surf-rock instrumental, and California Girls is, hm. Maybe if Joan Jett played D&D? No, that's not quite right. Sung by Shirley Simms (No one will ever love you) Some review or other described the album as a "My Bloody Valentine/Yo La Tengo lovechild". Stephin Merritt has said he's trying to "sound more like the Jesus and Mary Chain than the Jesus and Mary Chain". The Guardian opened it's review by putting him in the same catagory as Laibach. Rolling Stone swoons. I really couldn't be happier.
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10:08:28 AM,
Wednesday 9 January 2008
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I've had the windows open all afternoon. Amazing weather.
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03:26:46 PM,
Tuesday 8 January 2008
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Clinton sends a last minute mailer attacking Obama for wanting to raise the cap on social security. This is exactly the sort of cynical, wilful attempt to mislead voters that I find abhorrent; catering to voters fears and fostering misunderstandings in order to get votes. My favorite bit is 'Hard-working families', because you know, if you aren't pulling in 6 digits, you aren't really trying.
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(2)
12:03:34 PM,
Tuesday 8 January 2008
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site & script courtesy of Moss
