Photography: Prayer
winterSmith
Dear America: Iowa laughs at your “polar vortex”
I don’t want to make light of the cold snap sweeping the eastern half of the country. I know it’s dangerous and I hope everyone reading is warm and safe. That said, the issue here isn’t the cold. It’s the level of preparedness. I spent two winters in Iowa while getting my MA at Iowa State in Ames. And I’m
Read moreAnd now, let’s get 2014 started: Benjamin Bratton’s epic anti-TED Talk TED Talk
TEDx: It’s “Amusing Ourselves to Death” for the Techoliterati crowd. Happy New Year, a few hours early, from the staff of Scholars & Rogues. Have fun tonight, but please be careful. Big holiday occasions are amateur night and we don’t want you getting run over by drunken idiots. It goes without saying that we don’t want you being drunken idiots.
Read moreGoodbye 2013. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass.
The economic recovery hasn’t reached my house yet. I called 2010 the worst year ever. Then I elaborated a little. Sometimes I look back and wonder how the hell I survived that hateful, soul-destroying twelve months. Other times I look back and I’m not sure I actually did. Pieces of me died in 2010 and I carry the emptiness around
Read moreThe Best CDs of 2013: the end of a tradition
For a very long time I have ended the year with my annual best CDs list. I listen to a lot of music and have always enjoyed being able to pimp the great stuff to my readers. The tradition ends here, though. Over the course of the last couple of years I have worked to unclutter my life, to clear
Read more10-second beer review: Barrel-aged Black Lager from Elliott Bay Brewing
Okay, so I’m a pimp for Elliott Bay. But this lager is incredible. Rich, although not as heavy as a stout, and aged in Heaven Hills bourbon casks. The result is a sour robust enough for the snob (in the house!) but not one that will weigh you down if you prefer lighter body beers (although the ABV may well
Read moreNBA Christmas Day uniforms: #KMN
I’m usually a big fan of Adidas. But the soccer division is clearly where they put all the designers who have ideas. I mean, I thought it couldn’t get any worse than last year. I was wrong.
Read more10 reasons people hate poetry
Interesting item from Kevin Pocock over at Poejazzi, which I found out about because he linked my piece on walking away from it all. Much to think about there, but items #2 and #9 are near and dear to my heart. Also #5, which certainly describes me, as much as I hate to admit it.
Read more#WTF moment of the year? Seriously, what was “racist PR director” Justine Sacco thinking? [UPDATED]
I don’t have any deep insight here. Really, this post is mostly about pointing to a story, throwing up my hands in disbelief and wondering what the fuck?
Read moreSolstice greetings from Scholars & Rogues
Exclusive: pics of the new LeBron James nickname jersey
You may have heard that the NBA, in an attempt to wring every last dollar from you, is going to experiment with “nickname jerseys.” That is, instead of players having their names on the back of their shirts – Kevin Garnett has “Garnett,” for instance – they’ll have their nicknames. So Garnett, we’d expect, will be “Big Ticket.” Spike Lee
Read moreTexas becomes first state to open a Department of Pre-Crime
“Future crime warrant”? May the gods deliver us from “predictive policing” because the courts sure won’t. And now, your Minority Report moment of the day. Turns out it has nothing to do with the NSA. Nope, this time it’s our freedom and liberty loving countrymen in Texas. Last week, an appeals court in Texas ruled that police may obtain a
Read moreThe Patti Adler controversy: goddammit, University of Colorado, will you PLEASE stop embarrassing me?
CU shoots itself in the dick again, devaluing its reputation and my degree even more. Oh, good. The University of Colorado is in the news again. There is, of course, disagreement over what exactly the school is and is not doing and what Professor Adler did and did not do. Since I wasn’t there, I can’t say for certain. Here’s
Read moreThe first machine to pass the Turing Test is going to be … wait for it … a telemarketing robot
No, this clever program isn’t 100% there yet, but listen to the audio and think about it for a second.
Read moreUEFA Champions League draw pits Chelsea against Galatasaray, as predicted
Any wonder that people think these things are fixed? A few days ago I posted this to Facebook and one of my sports lists: “Chelsea’s possible round of 16 opponents are Bayer, Zenit, Olympiakos, Milan, and Galatasaray. Anybody want to bet me a million dollars the completely random draw slots us with Gala and former Blues icon Didier Drogba?”
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