Do people change? Do they better themselves, and do they overcome their deeply flawed nature? According to Miss Marple, they don’t. And Miss Marple knows these kinds of things. See, Miss Marple is the main character in a series of crime novels by Agatha Christie, and she’s the coolest elderly spinster ever. Seemingly harmless, gentle, and slightly clueless, she’s really a shrewd observer of human nature. She uses her innocent appearance and her powers of intuition and insight to solve all manners of crime in her quaint, seemingly peaceful town.
Posts Tagged ‘english’
People Never Change
Saturday, June 23rd, 2007If I Had a Financial Advisor, He Would Hate This Kind of Thing
Sunday, June 10th, 2007
Yesterday was a glorious day; a yard-sale in front of the American Book Center. It supposedly started at 11 AM, and I felt like a proper crazy book collector when I arrived at 10:55. I mean, who in his right mind gets up that early on a Saturday? Right? Well, apparently not. When I arrived the placed was packed. This, along with the knowledge that I haven’t really been reading many books lately, had me worried: have I lost it? Am I no longer a book-worm?
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The Makings Of
Saturday, June 2nd, 2007
Many movies nowadays are accompanied by ‘Making-of’ documentaries. They are often released as part of the marketing campaign the dvd release. In some cases, however, extended making-of’s are produced years after the film, as a eulogy of sorts. They present a more objective and detailed look, and aren’t marred by marketing goals, or time constraints.
I’m the odd kind of person who can be considered a fan of this ‘Making-of’ genre. In fact, I often enjoy these documentaries more than the actual movie. For example, The ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, each movie more than three hours long, was a bit too lengthy for my tastes. I did, however, watch the 6+ hours of documentary on each disc. Repeatedly. Crazy? Definitely! I make no apologies.
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Is God a Taoist?
Saturday, May 26th, 2007
Why did God create free will? Why does he allow us to ’sin’? And what is sin anyways? Is God perfect? Is he an entity, or more like a process? Does he even exist? And if so, could he prove it?
In a lengthy socratic dialogue by Raymond Smullyan, a mortal speaks with God on these issues and more. It offers some interesting views on free will and its implications. By the end it falls apart in my opinion, because it more explicitly enters the ‘Taoist domain’, but the journey to that point is insightful.
Here’s a short excerpt:
MORTAL: And therefore, O God, I pray thee, if thou hast one ounce of mercy for this thy suffering creature, absolve me of having to have free will!
GOD: You reject the greatest gift I have given thee?
MORTAL: How can you call that which was forced on me a gift? I have free will, but not of my own choice. I have never freely chosen to have free will. I have to have free will, whether I like it or not!
GOD: Why would you wish not to have free will?
MORTAL: Because free will means moral responsibility, and moral responsibility is more than I can bear!
GOD: Why do you find moral responsibility so unbearable?
MORTAL: Why? I honestly can’t analyze why; all I know is that I do.
GOD: All right, in that case suppose I absolve you from all moral responsibility but leave you still with free will. Will this be satisfactory?
MORTAL (after a pause): No, I am afraid not.
Audio: “Could you help me to destroy my school please?”
Wednesday, May 16th, 2007Little Becky calls a demolition company:
Yearning
Monday, May 14th, 2007
Every once in a while, I feel a strong sensation best described as part nostalgia, yearning for the past, and part anticipation, yearning for the future. These brief ‘visions’ can be very detailed…
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Video: Bathtime in Clerkenwell
Saturday, May 12th, 2007Here’s a great surreal music animation. It’s about a bunch of fascist birds in a man’s cuckoo clock that try to wake him up. See if you can get the tune out of your head after watching this…
A Tribute to XKCD
Monday, May 7th, 2007I’m a big fan of the webcomic xkcd. It has the cleverness, sweetness and poignancy of Calvin & Hobbes, my all-time favorite comic, but is peppered with a good amount of ‘beta science’ and general geek culture.
Here’s one of my favorite comics, titled The Raven:
(The Raven is one of America’s most famous poems, written by Edgar Allan Poe, one of my favorite writers)
Some more favorites:
Reno Rhymes (For all you Johnny Cash fans)
Ninja Turtles
What XKCD means
Escalators
Baring My Heart
Chess Photo
Appropriate Term
The Difference
Pet Peeve #114
Kite
Kitty
Small Talk (very, very true!)
Philosophy
90’s Flowchart
America Must Never Forget
Grownups
(hovering your mouse over the images will display some text to complement the comic)
Music: Holcombe Waller
Monday, April 30th, 2007
Through the wonders of pandora, which earlier led to wonderful discoveries like Iron & Wine, I discovered a new artist called Holcombe Waller.
He is best described as a Sufjan Stevens with a slightly more androgynous voice, and slightly more mellow, ‘conventional’ music. Unlike Sufjan, he did come out of the closet, so to speak. Not that it really matters…
After much searching (he’s not very well known by the internet) I, erm, ‘found’ two tracks. I’ve heard from reliable sources that someone bought the tracks through iTunes, ripped them using computer magic, and uploaded them. Let’s all be grateful to him.
The first track, “Literally the End of the World” is the most beautiful, and showcases his amazing voice.
The second track, also very nice, reminds me quite a bit of Sufjan Stevens, and is much more ‘folk’. It’s called “Don’t You Love Nobody True“.
Both tracks are from the album “Troubled Times“, and can be found on iTunes.
Some more of his tracks can be found on myspace.
Internet for the Third World
Saturday, April 28th, 2007
Nigerian students power up their laptop (see gallery)
In the past months I’ve been following the development of the ‘$100 computer’ for the third world. It’s a great initiative that will allow children to become computer-literate, and a good example of what can be accomplished when we work together.
For an idea how much of a difference a computer can make in these children’s lives, here’s an article on an interesting experiment a computer-scientist in New Delhi conducted: India: Hole in the Wall
One boy in particular, Rajinder, has become a computer whiz and a celebrity in India. “Mainly I go to the Disney site,” Rajinder tells FRONTLINE/World, but he also regularly visits news sites and likes to use computer paint tools. His teacher says that Rajinder is a much better student now: “He has become quite bold and expressive. I’ve got great hopes for this child.”