Guilty pleasures & chick flicks
There should be no such term as “guilty pleasure.” Either it’s something you like, or it’s not. There’s no reason for you to feel guilty for liking something. There should be no such term as “chick flick.” Either it’s a good movie, or it’s not — it shouldn’t matter whether the viewer is male or […]
The war against expertise
David Brin, on his blog “Contrary Brin,” describes what he calls the war against expertise and portrays it convincingly as the most important problem in the US right now. He points out that all fact-centred professions are under assault. How could “tens of millions of Americans — who benefited spectacularly from the rise of science […]
Astonishing lists from list25
The YouTube channel list25 has a bunch of lists that will make you want to find out more about the topics in them. Here are some of them. Around the world people are living longer, experiencing less violence, have more money, and are happier than in the past: 25 Positive World Statistics That Will Make […]
Letters of Note
I came across a website that has hundreds of fascinating letters from throughout history. The letters are serious, mysterious, and funny. Here’s an astonishing letter written by a freed slave to his former master: To My Old Master Here’s a brilliant letter written by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. to a school board head who burned his […]
Innovative solutions for difficult problems
Robert Grimminck, on Listverse, presents a list of 10 significant problems of the 21st century that might have innovative solutions. It seems to me that some attention should be paid to these suggestions. One solution, eliminating homelessness by giving them a home, has already been done in Medicine Hat, Alberta. 10 Major Social Problems That Could […]
Can opinions be wrong?
Here’s an article by Jef Rouner from the Houston Press. It’s commonly said that opinions can’t be wrong, but the problem is people are labelling things opinions that aren’t. It seems like more and more people think that just because they label some thought an “opinion” that everyone must respect it. But if what’s you’ve […]
The problem with guns in the US
Here’s an articulate article about guns in the US, with lots of charts. It’s really obvious what the problem is, what the solution is, and why they’re having trouble implementing the solution. The article is written by Matthew Speiser, and appears on the Business Insider website: DEAR AMERICA: Here’s why everyone thinks you have a […]
Frustrating goings on south of the border
It’s important to know about what’s happening in the US since they’re huge and they’re our neighbour. Here are a few articulate articles that describe some of what’s wrong with the country. The more people there are who understand the situation, the likelier it is it will change. Here’s some evidence that people who watch […]
The world is getting less dangerous
If you watch the news you might be forgiven for thinking that the world has become more dangerous lately. It certainly seems like it — domestic violence, terrorism, and war are in the news daily. But the news always focuses on such things. If you look at the numbers, violence of all kinds has been […]
Kids React & Teens React
These are some videos I came across recently that are produced on a regular basis by the Fine brothers. They have other videos but the two series I thought were the best were Kids React and Teens React. The two series are the same idea with a different age range. The brothers show kids or […]