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A stew of science, art, current events, and luddism.
Your humble narrator
I never was good looking, but now I'm too old to let that get me down. -- Chris Smither
About Me
Guitar non-hero
Friends' Blogs
Blog Archive
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2008
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October 2008
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- V
- Basic Math
- "I guess I picked the wrong day to quit drinking"
- You are no more than a monkey
- Courage of his convictions
- Praise Stupidity
- HSB 8
- America has no problems
- I'm Voting for Palin!
- Snoopy Hockey 2008
- The Poisoning Continues
- God is Angry
- Risk and Reward
- Guitar Fun
- Jeeves and Wooster
- Michigan my Michigan
- Marx was wrong
- Romantische Strasse
- Franken Erleben
- Snoopy Hockey 2007
- Deutschland, Deutschland
- Austria
- Einfach Leben
- Facism part 2
- Another great article by Dr. Dawkins
- Calling all young republicans!
- The "Debate" Rages On!
- Investing in the Market? Sucker!
- The Latest Bush "Change of Heart"
- Gerald Ford, Republican Unity
- I was once but a lad
- The Root of All Evil
- The One Progressive Voice
- The man behind Bush (NOT Karl Rove!)
- Trival "news" and terror plots from the movies
- Cut and Run Liberal
- The Ratchet of Progress
- You're getting warmer... warmer... now you're hot!
- No more wanking at work!
- How can we be obese?
- Why religious fundamentalists make good Neoconserv...
- Domestic spying hearings
- What passes for free speech
- Another Bush crony-appointee resigns in disgrace
- No sense of irony?
- Syriana
- Protecting you from Al Qaeda and porn
- Unexpected: Supreme Court upholds most basic perso...
- A debt-ridden society
- How the world sees the U.S.
- Breaking Ranks
- Live well, then die off?
- Censorship in Iran! How shocking!
- Forgeries and the case for war
- Good Night and Good Luck
- Training legions of the ignorant
- The breakup of Iraq vs. Yugoslavia
- Already I don't like this guy...
- Was Hillary right?
- Freedom ain't on the March (and it isn't free)
- Flight of the Chickenhawks
- Kennedy and the separation of church and state
- Gas prices and Hypocrisy
- Nothing is Smooth
- Intelligent Falling
- That of which we shall not speak
- The Road to U.S. Fascism
- News Flash! The Earth is flat!
- GAS
- American Taliban
- What defines stupidity?
- Yurts!
- Snoopy Hockey Tournament
- Anyone care for a little Soylent Green?
- What Century is This?
- Creating a new blog
Posts
Favorite Books
- Sam Harris: The End of Faith. The problems religion causes in the world and how reason must prevail over superstition and dogma if we are to survive.
- Robert Wright: Three Scientists and Their Gods. Particularly liked the section on Edward Fredkin.
- Robert Pirsig: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Lila. Two of my favorite books of all time.
- Richard Feynman: Surely You're Joking mister Feynman. The brilliant physicist was, like Leonardo, able to do just about anything.
- Richard Dawkins: The Blind Watchmaker. Evolution's most eloquent spokesman. Also, The God Delusion.
- Mark Hertsgaard: The Eagle's Shadown. Ever wonder what the rest of the world thinks of us?
- Ken Follett: Pillars of the Earth. Couldn't put this novel down.
- Jon Stewart, et al: America the Book. Humorous look at our history and government. From the Daily Show folks.
- James Gleick: Chaos. One of the books that got me interested in complexity theory.
- Henry Fielding: Tom Jones. Wit of 18th century Britain.
- Eric Chaisson: The Life Era. Evolution from the big bang forward.
- Charles Bukowski: Like all of his prose, but I think my favorite is still the first one I read--Post Office. The gritty side of life.
- Bart Kosko: Fuzzy Thinking. Goes well with chaos if you think hard about it.
What passes for news
I'm pretty disgusted with the state of journalism in the U.S. right now. Television networks in particular are concerned primarily with commercial aspects of the business and have forgotten their responsibilities to the public good. In addition, they seem preoccupied with the most trivial or sensational stories rather than those of real importance. When the evening news continually leads off with stories about celebrity scandal or other meaningless drivel, it's no wonder the American public is woefully uninformed.
So much of the American media is scandalously biased to the conservative end of the political spectrum despite cries from conservatives to the contrary. That's just part of their strategy: to distract people from the fact that they are controlling most access to information. News organizations that are not biased have been cowed into passively regurgitating press releases and talking points from the Bush administration. Blech.
International news providers
News organizations from other countries providing a well-rounded and more complete perspective on events around the planet. If you want to see what is going on in the world (that doesn't necessarily concern the U.S.) try these sources.
Deutsche Welle
International news and culture from a German perspective
BBC
The grand old news organization out of the U.K.
The Economist
News magazine published in the U.K. No sports, celebrities, fashion, or other junk. Just solid reporting. They actually cover the whole world.
Not exactly news, but fun
Humorous or iconoclastic review of the news
The Daily Show
My favorite show. Not news, precisely, but they are great at calling bullshit when they step in it.
Political/Cultural Cartoons
I like political cartoons. They say a lot with very little apparent effort. These are some of my favorites.
Ted Rall
Mark Fiore An animated cartoon!
Tom Meyer
Derf (The City)
Tom Tomorrow Note: Tom Tommorw has his own site (http://www.thismodernworld.com/), but the easiest place to read his strip is listed above.
Tom the Dancing Bug
Keeping my head out of the oven
It's appalling what a person must do to keep a roof over his head, food on the table, and clothing on his back. Work is necessary to provide these essentials, but it should not be the defining aspect of one's life. To add a little enjoyment to my existence, I participate in a number of activities that distract from the mundane or onerous aspects of life.
Hockey--I played a little hockey when I was a kid in Michigan, but I hung up the skates when I was 14 or so. While visiting my family in November of 2004(?), my brother told me he had been playing in an adult hockey league. I went to watch him play and it looked like a lot of fun, so I bought some skates. When I returned to California, I stumbled upon a pickup game near my office and have been playing ever since. (Thanks Rich!) I also play in an over-40 league, which is a lot of fun while offering some quality skating. It's weird picking up hockey anew at such an advanced age (nearly 50), but I'm loving it.
Guitar--I started playing guitar rather late in life too: around 41 years old. (Thanks for the encouragement Mel.) I've been at it several years now, and I enjoy playing almost every day, at least when time permits. Music is a therapeutic activity. When life is kind of shitty, playing guitar makes me feel a little better. When life is good, playing guitar makes me feel a little better. I haven't begun composing or recording yet, but hope to do that eventually. I used to perform occasionally at open mics in the San Francisco area, but haven't done that in a couple of years.
Badminton--My friend Leighton taught me how to play badminton when I lived in Atlanta. It's a super-fast game and is lots of fun. I only play about once a week, sometimes less, but enjoy it when I can. Serendipitously, Leighton and I are living in the same general area again, so we are able to get together for tournaments occasionally. He's still good. I'm not.
Outdoors--I enjoy doing almost any outdoor activity, but my favorites are hiking, alpine climbing, rock climbing, and skiing. I like bicycling too, but never seem to find the time to get out on the roads or trails. I've recently taken up tennis, but VERY casually.
All of these activities have provided the additional benefit of introducing me to a lot of nice people I otherwise would not have met. Thanks to you all of you for enriching my experiences.
Hockey--I played a little hockey when I was a kid in Michigan, but I hung up the skates when I was 14 or so. While visiting my family in November of 2004(?), my brother told me he had been playing in an adult hockey league. I went to watch him play and it looked like a lot of fun, so I bought some skates. When I returned to California, I stumbled upon a pickup game near my office and have been playing ever since. (Thanks Rich!) I also play in an over-40 league, which is a lot of fun while offering some quality skating. It's weird picking up hockey anew at such an advanced age (nearly 50), but I'm loving it.
Guitar--I started playing guitar rather late in life too: around 41 years old. (Thanks for the encouragement Mel.) I've been at it several years now, and I enjoy playing almost every day, at least when time permits. Music is a therapeutic activity. When life is kind of shitty, playing guitar makes me feel a little better. When life is good, playing guitar makes me feel a little better. I haven't begun composing or recording yet, but hope to do that eventually. I used to perform occasionally at open mics in the San Francisco area, but haven't done that in a couple of years.
Badminton--My friend Leighton taught me how to play badminton when I lived in Atlanta. It's a super-fast game and is lots of fun. I only play about once a week, sometimes less, but enjoy it when I can. Serendipitously, Leighton and I are living in the same general area again, so we are able to get together for tournaments occasionally. He's still good. I'm not.
Outdoors--I enjoy doing almost any outdoor activity, but my favorites are hiking, alpine climbing, rock climbing, and skiing. I like bicycling too, but never seem to find the time to get out on the roads or trails. I've recently taken up tennis, but VERY casually.
All of these activities have provided the additional benefit of introducing me to a lot of nice people I otherwise would not have met. Thanks to you all of you for enriching my experiences.
Matthew Haavisto
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