John Taylor Gatto knows a thing or two about the American school system… and, I’d argue, his points translate to all kinds of other school systems. Here are a couple of worthwhile, angering, stirring essays: The Six-Lesson Schoolteacher How public education cripples our kids, and why
Category: ASIDES
Traneimation
Here’s a funny little animation based on John Coltrane’s Giant Steps. I’m not crazy about it but it is kind of neat as a one-time diversion. (via a thread on Last.fm.)
Praying Mantis Eats Hummingbird (Bird Watcher’s Digest)
I was sure I linked to this last summer, but can’t find it on my site now. Praying Mantis Eats Hummingbird is about the most exciting thing I think will ever be posted on Bird Watchers’ Digest. (via BoingBoing)
Do it the Japanese Way
This is how they do it in Japan. “It” meaning folding T-shirts, of course. I think I found this on a certain Hominid’s site.
Odysseus’ Ithaca Found?
So it seems. For almost 3,000 years, its location has been a mystery, but classical scholars around the world are now convinced that a British businessman and amateur archaeologist with a passion for Homer has found the island of Ithaca, home of the Greek hero Odysseus and the site of his palace. Say thank you to Marvin for this one.
Some Entertaining Polls
The Highly Esteemed Peemil links to Chase me, ladies, I’m in the cavalry, where some very amusing polls can be found. Go vote on them. For the record, I think if I were trapped on a desert island with the Spice Girls and had to resort to cannibalism, Sporty Spice would be the first to go. The meat would just be a little leaner. I mean, if you gotta be a cannibal, do it the healthy way, right?
Animals in a horror world of our making – Paul Sheehan – Opinion – smh.com.au
Regular reader Mer passed on a link to this article: Animals in a horror world of our making, which deals with “Voiceless”, an Australian human-treatment-for-animals group seeking to deliver facts and implicit moral choices instead of shrill politics and condemnations common to the animal rights movement. And it also tells the story of an interesting Chef in Paris who’ve gone non-meat and whose cuisine is low-impact, organic, and as fresh as you can get anywhere.
radiOM.org
Yes, these is an avant-garde webradio station:radiOM.org: Sounds Like Tomorrow Web Radio. Sign up and you can hear concerts from the heyday of the minimalists, an interview with a lover of Ezra Pound’s, and all kinds of other things.
craigslist seoul
For those of you in Korea, there’s a craigslist for the city. Not very full, since it’s English only, but it’s something. via c(h)ristine. C(h)ristine found something funny there, too. Brrrrrrrr.
RadioPhiles
At radiophiles.org you can listen to all kinds of interesting interviews. I checked out the one with Freeman Dyson and it was pretty durn good.