For background, I refer you to this post, telling you all you need to know about the silent film by Fritz Lang called Metropolis. In that post, I point out that somebody had discovered what is believed to be the full original uncut version of the film. That version is being shown today, over the Internet, for free. Unfortunately, it … Read More
RIP Howard Zinn
Best known for his classic, A People's History of the United States, Zinn changed the way many think about America. The book, written from an unapologetic liberal stance, decided not to glorigy America and its founders, but noted the struggles of real Americans in making change. Zinn himself would admit that the book has a biased slant — and it … Read More
The Data Decade
I think historians will look back at the 2000s and call it The Data Decade, and here's why: –Percentage of U.S. households with a broadband connection in 2000: 6.3% –Percentage of U.S. households with a broadband connection in 2008: 63% –Number of e-mails sent per day in 2000: 12 billion –Number of e-mails sent per day in 2009: 247 billion … Read More
Leaked 9/11 Pager Messages Released
Wikileaks is a website which divulges leaked information. Recently, they released half a million pager messages that were sent on 9/11 (back when people had pagers). As the site explains: Text pagers are usualy carried by persons operating in an official capacity. Messages in the archive range from Pentagon, FBI, FEMA and New York Police Department exchanges, to computers reporting … Read More
Let’s Get Our Thanksgiving History Straight
The people of Provincetown Massachusetts (a cool little town) would like you to know that the Pilgrims landed there first, months before they went across Cape Cod Bay to land at Plymouth Rock. Just sayin….
Foxx’s Latest Stupid Statements
During a debate on the House floor today over designating 21 miles of the Molalla River as "wild and scenic," Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), who opposes the legislation, tried to claim a progressive environmental record for her party. "Actually, the GOP has been the leader in starting good environmental programs in this country," said Foxx. She didn't say what those … Read More
In Which I Get All Politically Incorrect And Puffed Up About Veteran’s Day
You know what? I'm not going to go up to a veteran and thank him for protecting my freedom. You know why? Because unless he is a hundred years old, chances are that that ex-soldier didn't do a damn thing to preserve and protect my freedom. Don't get me wrong. I have nothing but respect and admiration for those who choose … Read More
Things You Learn On WIkipedia
The flag of the Benin Empire (1440-1897): That's pretty hard core. And note that the victim is not only unarmed, but was also merely trying to samba. All that is missing is a cartoon bubble with the victim saying "Ouch" or "Quit it!" Benin was a little empire located in present-day Nigeria. The nobility which ran the empire were, obviously, very … Read More
Headlines That Give Us Pause
Cruise to trace Titanic's route on centennial of ship's sinking A memorial cruise is scheduled to set sail 100 years after the sinking of the Titanic, following the same trans-Atlantic route as the ill-fated ship, according to organizers. The Titanic Memorial Cruise is to set sail in April 2012, departing from Southampton, England, on April 8, just as the Titanic … Read More
Pat Buchanan Goes Full Blown Nazi-Supporting Stupid
His latest — a pro-Nazi apologia entitled "Did Hitler Want War?": But if Hitler was out to conquer the world — Britain, Africa, the Middle East, the United States, Canada, South America, India, Asia, Australia — why did he spend three years building that hugely expensive Siegfried Line to protect Germany from France? Why did he start the war with no … Read More
Trumbo
Here's the sum total of what I knew about Dalton Trumbo before yesterday: He wrote "Johnny Got His Gun", which was one of the first grown-up books I ever read. He was one of the "Hollywood Ten" who got blacklisted because he refused to name names. He wrote the screenplays to "Spartacus" and "Papillon". Last night on PBS, the American … Read More
More Post Mortem Photography
See post below There seems to be a lot more post mortem from the Victorian era than I thought. I'm not talking about death bed photographs (although there is a lot of that as well). I'm talking about dead people posed. Mostly, it's babies, posed peacefully in their cribs, occasionally with other children surrounding the crib, like a typical family photo. What … Read More
Conservative Kennedy Bashing
I don't want to draw too much attention to the vileness from some conservative quarters on the subject of Ted Kennedy's death – it's rather ugly. But it confounds me that many of these conservatives like to cloak themselves in the Bible and Christian goodness. I mean, I'm not saying that Kennedy was a saint, but if Jesus had a vote in … Read More