Accidentally
“Do you know what, it was cultural,” he concludes. “I never came from the place that those people came from, so to come in and go, ‘I’m just going to try and make this stuff’ was probably a bit naive.” He’s at pains to point out that the divide wasn’t racial […] but one of geography and background; Blake comes from Enfield, dubstep started 27 miles away in Croydon.” —
James Blake, from this Guardian interview.
As a North American, the concept of being an unwanted, uncomprehending outsider because you’re from twenty-seven miles away makes me boggle. I actually thought this might be a very deadpan joke; Dan Hancox has been kind enough to enlighten me about UK musical microregionalism.
(via zedequalszee)
27 miles was like my daily commute to high school! I guess Centreville just wasn’t a happening scene on its own?
(via zedequalszee)
[video]
I feel powerless to control my obsession, even though it cheapens and demeans me. But today is the first day of the rest of my life. And so, I hereby pledge that, beginning on Feb. 1, 2011, I will not mention Sarah Palin — in print, online or on television — for one month. Furthermore, I call on others in the news media to join me in this pledge of a Palin-free February. With enough support, I believe we may even be able to extend the moratorium beyond one month, but we are up against a powerful compulsion, and we must take this struggle day by day.
YES THIS DEAR GOD
(Source: Washington Post)
![CAFFEINE NICOTINATE
it’s not quite what you expect it to be (it’s a niacin [nicotinic acid] salt, not a nicotine salt) but it’s a pretty good name anyway](http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lf8xod94yh1qznsgto1_250.gif)
CAFFEINE NICOTINATE
it’s not quite what you expect it to be (it’s a niacin [nicotinic acid] salt, not a nicotine salt) but it’s a pretty good name anyway
Why is alcohol so widely available if it is so toxic and what can we do about it? … I think it is time to use the now-considerable knowledge of the neuropsychopharmacology of alcohol to develop safer, alternative intoxicants whose effects can be reversed by antidotes.
The Scientist; free registration required.
[video]
“It is facile and mistaken to attribute this particular madman’s act directly to Republicans or Tea Party members. But it is legitimate to hold Republicans and particularly their most virulent supporters in the media responsible for the gale of anger that has produced the vast majority of these threats, setting the nation on edge. Many on the right have exploited the arguments of division, reaping political power by demonizing immigrants, or welfare recipients, or bureaucrats. They seem to have persuaded many Americans that the government is not just misguided, but the enemy of the people.” —
Pretty much my thoughts exactly.
—
Late update: … and The Shrill One jumps on board:
It’s important to be clear here about the nature of our sickness. It’s not a general lack of “civility,” the favorite term of pundits who want to wish away fundamental policy disagreements. Politeness may be a virtue, but there’s a big difference between bad manners and calls, explicit or implicit, for violence; insults aren’t the same as incitement.
(via langer)
Piltdown medicine: The missing link between MMR and autism -
Revealing the layers of fraud and deception behind the Wakefield MMR jab paper that sparked the autism-vaccine hysteria that refuses to die no matter how extensively it’s debunked. This blog entry serves as an introduction to the article published in BMJ; read both.
State Dep't SOI request: Internet Freedom Programs -
REQUESTED STATEMENT OF INTEREST PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
DRL and NEA invite organizations to submit statements of interest outlining program concepts and capacity to manage projects that will foster freedom of expression and the free flow of information on the Internet and other connection technologies in East Asia, including China and Burma; the Near East, including Iran; Southeast Asia; the South Caucasus; Eurasia, including Russia; Central Asia; Latin America, including Cuba and Venezuela; and Africa. Programming may support activities in Farsi, Chinese, Russian, Burmese, Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic, French, and other languages spoken in acutely hostile Internet environments. Concepts may be global in nature, regional or country-specific.
Statements should clearly address a) support for digital activists and civil society organizations in exercising their right to freedom of expression and the free flow of information in acutely hostile Internet environments, or b) support for ongoing evaluation and research to enhance global Internet freedom policy and diplomacy.
One could make catty remarks about your choice of a) network neutrality or b) Wikileaks, but let’s instead actually just meditate in the warmth of how cool it is that the State Department cares about this at all. The Internet, man!