Of course, it would be nice if there was a version of the Flash player plugin that didn’t cause Firefox to bloat and die.

You don’t say, Cal.

A democracy depends on an informed electorate to survive. An alarming number of Americans and a majority of Republicans are misinformed.
[…]
I recently watched Glenn Beck speaking at great length about Obama’s Muslim father, but you would not have learned from Beck that the father, who Obama met only once, was not a practicing Muslim in any sense.
[…]
Our economy has collapsed and it seemed clear to many Americans that the unregulated greed of Wall Street trading, especially in derivatives, was responsible. These were not investments in industry, the economy or the future. They were investments in a bold Ponzi scheme which defrauded home owners into fronting for a pyramid of worthless loans. Citizens lost their homes, investment houses went bankrupt, but the criminals responsible continued to pay themselves multi-million-dollar bonuses.
[…]
Beck and Palin speak about “taking back America.” The buried message is that they will take it back from Muslims. This is a heartless misuse of the tragedy of 9/11 and its victims.
[…]
Our political immune system has only one antibody, and that is the truth.
[…]
The time is here for responsible Americans to put up or shut up. I refer specifically to those who have credibility among the guileless and credulous citizens who have been infected with notions so carefully nurtured. We cannot afford to allow the next election to proceed under a cloud of falsehood and delusion.

America, where have you gone?

It’s the end of a long and tumultuous week for me. If there’s one thing I am, it’s not you. Life molds us in unique and peculiar ways, most likely not of our choosing. This week couldn’t have reminded me of that any clearer. I’m not better off or worse off, I just don’t fit into any particular set of social norms. I am my own. And on the outside, I’m complicated.

How do I cope? How do I calm down? How do I fit in? Music.

This series of videos from the NY Times is called The Beauty of the Power Game and I can’t tell if they are cheap & exploitive or beautiful & revealing. They show women tennis players hitting shots in slow motion. The one of Victoria Azarenka is the best by far…the camera pans up her body slowly, showing first her footwork, then the pivot, backswing, intense focus of the eyes, swing, and finally the followthrough.

I am in the “beautiful & revealing” camp. Simply stunning.

(via kottke)

Hello.