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If you’ve heard much about the new HBO series “Game of Thrones” — and I’m sure you have, as it’s been everywhere lately — you may have heard about the controversy surrounding the show. Ironically, this one seems to have been generated by the show’s reviewers. Aren’t critics supposed to stay above the fray? Eh, don’t answer that …
I was reading John Muir today over at The Atlantic, and, as you might guess, he makes a couple of good points having to do with trees. One: “Any fool can destroy trees. They cannot run away.” And two: It takes a long time to grow an old-growth forest. “During a man’s life, only saplings can be grown. … It took more than 3,000 years to make some of the trees in these Western woods — trees that are still standing in perfect strength and beauty, waving and singing in the mighty forest.” It would have been a shame for “fools” to take down those old, old trees.
I’ll admit, I don’t really do anything to celebrate Easter except eat awesome food with the fam, but that doesn’t mean I pass at the opportunity to put together a fun centerpiece with flowers to brighten up the table, too. So after the jump, there’s a collection of ideas and advice for putting together a lovely little Easter showpiece without spending lots of money.
Blow Your Mind: The Quest for Cyberimmortality
by Robert Lamb | April 22, 2011
Death is always strange, but modern technology has a way of making it stranger still. My father died last month and, as I relate in this podcast, one of the first things I did after I heard the news was to call his cell phone. I’m not entirely sure why. But call I did, and I interacted with the digital remnants of the man that was. In the weeks that have followed, I’ve e-mailed his account a couple of times as well, an act that feels equal parts weird and therapeutic. What does it all mean?
The “Mad Men” character Don Draper is modeled after the ad men of yore, shining up even the dullest products to seductively woo the consumer’s attention. The show also focuses on the inherent sexism of the industry at the time, and women’s battles to have their ideas heard and recognized.
One real-life woman who accomplished just that is Kitty D’Alessio.
Alfred Nobel created the Nobel Peace Prize to honor individuals accomplishing “the most or the best work for fraternity among nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the promotion of peace congresses.” Since Nobel’s will was revealed shortly after his death in 1896, the Nobel Peace Prize has become one of the world’s [...]
Spirulina is a blue-green algae that is supposed to have some amazing health effects when you eat it. It is sometimes referred to as Superfood when sold in a dried form. This article describes some of the potential benefits but also contains a word of caution about the hype: Spirulina Spirulina is a type of [...]
A Triumph in the War Against Cancer – “Gradually increasing the STI571 dosage, the physicians observed by around six months that astronomical white blood counts of nearly 100,000 cells per cubic millimeter were falling to less than 10,000, well within normal. Analysis of one of the first patients’ white blood cells found no signs of [...]
There are few inventions as simple, yet as ubiquitous and iconic, as the Bunsen burner. Bunsen’s invention is nearly synonymous with chemistry, and this year the inventor is 200 years old: How many other inventions have had that kind of longevity, carry the inventor’s name and are still in widespread use? The Geiger counter comes [...]
Dukan Diet Oat Bran: Where to Get it, How to Prepare it
by Marshall Brain | April 21, 2011
The Dukan Diet is getting a huge amount of press in the United States this week with the release of Dr. Dukan’s book. And one big question that keeps coming up is this: what is the deal with the oat bran? Where do you get it? How do you eat it? Personally I use Hodgson [...]
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