Philosophers May Sing

Dr Seuss on YouTube

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:51:25 GMT

I've been playing with YouTube lately. I have an ongoing series of dramatic readings of spam messages. I've also produced a couple of performances of Dr. Seuss stories:

These are memorized, not read.

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:39:26 GMT

My trip to Spain began inauspiciously. I left my flat in St Andrews at some ungodly hour Tuesday morning -- seven, maybe? I forget now -- to undertake the frustrating trek to the airport. There are two ways to do this; I walked to the bus station, and took a bus to Ferrytoll, outside Edinburgh, and then another bus to the airport. The other way is to take a bus to the train station in the next town over -- we haven't one of our own -- and take the train into Edinburgh, and then a bus back to the airport. Either way, from door to check-in, and allowing for time waiting for trains and busses, you're looking at a solid two hours. I wish St Andrews were more accessible.

Anyway, I began strong by putting my passport in my pocket before I left. I didn't, I think, write about it here, but the last time I travelled to Europe, to give a talk in Oslo, I made the arduous journey to the airport, then discovered I'd left my passport in my flat. Brilliant. Anyway, that's another story. This time, I had my passport. I flew to Amsterdam, where I had a long layover of about three hours, before moving on to Barcelona.

Here is the shape of my trip to Spain. The reason I went to Spain is that I was selected to give a talk at a conference in Zaragoza, a conference in honor of, and on the topic of, Ernest Sosa's work in philosophy. Ernie was my Ph.D. advisor, and I know him and his work very well, and find it fascinating. So it was a natural conference for me to attend. The conference ran Wednesday-Friday; I then scheduled myself a weekend as a tourist in Barcelona. I flew to Barcelona and back; there is a high-speed train linking Barcelona and Zaragoza.

Whatever competence I displayed in bringing my passport to the airport, however, I did not book my train from Barcelona to Zaragoza in advance. In fairness to me, I tried at least a little -- and I learned later, when attempting to avoid repeating the mistake, that the Renfe website is extremely difficult and unreliable, and not only (but admittedly in part) because I don't speak Spanish, let alone Catalan. Anyway, I successfully navigated taking the train from the airport to the central train station, but the next step did not go smoothly at all. I'm still a little confused as to what happened.

I first tried the electronic ticket machines, hoping I'd be able to access an English option, and buy my ticket to Zaragoza. This was a little after 9:00. (Thirteen hours into my travel, taking account of the time zone change.) But no luck; not only was there no English, there was no plausible way even to proceed in ignorance of the language; indeed, beginning the ticket-buying process on those machines intiated some sort of log-in, and requested a password. So I went to the ticket desk. I'm shy when I'm not sure what I'm doing, even when I'm confident in my ability to communicate. This process, to me, was closer to terrifying. The ticket guy indicated to me that he spoke only a minimal amount of English, but I was able to get across the word 'Zaragoza', which he repeated back, then started typing. Then he wrote on a nearby sheet of paper:

22:00
--> 02:05

From which I gathered that he wanted to put me on a ten-o'clock train that would arrive at 2:05 in the morning. This surprised me, as I had thought there was a high-speed train that took only about an hour and a half. "Nothing faster?" I asked. "No." So I bought the ticket, in great disappointment. I hadn't, to be honest, finished preparing my presentation; I'd meant to go over it a couple of times in my hotel at 10:30 or 11:00, when I'd expected to arrive.

I went away, then discovered that the wi-fi at the station, though it didn't give general internet access, did give access to the train schedules. Seeing these, I confirmed my previous belief that there was indeed a much faster train, leaving at 21:40 and arriving at 23:20. I went back to the ticket desk, but had difficulty explaining what I wanted. "Nine forty," I said. "High speed." And then, and this is the one that did the trick, "nine three three," which was the train's number. This he seemed to understand, then did some typing. "No seats." "Oh. And 10:05?" There was another high-speed train scheduled at that time. "No." He showed me his computer screen, where I saw a bunch of numbers that I didn't understand. "Ok." Disappointedly, I resigned myself to the slow train.

Now this all seemed pretty straightforward at the time. The fast train, I guess, tended to run at full capacity, and I should have booked in advance. But later in the week, comparing notes with the other conference participants, several people who had travelled according to similar patterns (though none at the same time) told me they'd not booked in advance, and had taken high-speed trains from Barcelona to Zaragotha, and that those trains were almost empty. So now, in retrospect, I'm confused. Maybe, for some reason, the last two trains of the day were incredibly full, even though most of them were not. Or maybe I failed to communicate what I wanted, although I really think that, although I was far from elegant, I'm pretty confident I was effective there. Or maybe the ticket guy didn't like me. I don't get it.

Anyway, the slow train didn't afford me a chance to work on my presentation, as I'd hoped, as I sat in a compartment with several other people, who engaged in a very lively conversation for the first hour and a half or so. It's remarkable, really, how friendly they were; I should have liked to have talked with them. It was pretty humbling to spend so much time not knowing what was going on. It made me feel stupid, which isn't a way I'm used to feeling. I was also exhausted. Eventually, they turned off the lights in the compartment, but I did not sleep, both because I was uncomfortably close to the people around me, and because I was afraid I'd miss Zaragoza -- there was no indication anywhere of where we were, or when to expect each stop; indeed, there wasn't even an announcement. I stood up and waited by the door when, judging by my clock and the scheduled arrival time, I expected we were nearby. I don't know how everyone else knew when to get off.

The train was delayed, and it was after 3:00 that I finally made it to my hotel, having commissioned a taxi trip, cleverly having written the name and address of my hotel on a scrap of paper beforehand. The woman at the front desk spoke English, which relieved me greatly. I surprised myself by how uncomfortable I had felt. Then again, I'd been traveling for nineteen hours and hadn't slept, so maybe I'll cut myself a little slack. I went immediately to bed, setting my alarm for 6:30, to finish preparing my presentations, both of which were the next day. That day, as you might expect, passed in a bit of a blur, but I gave my presentations, and don't recall being mortified at my performance or their reception. The talks were interesting, and, as always, it was good to see Ernie again. The man no signs whatsoever of slowing down.

I'm a fan of the Spanish meal pattern. A late, light breakfast, after you've been working a couple of hours, followed by a large, multi-course late lunch at 2:30 or 3:00. Then a light meal, with tapas or some such, late in the evening, if you're hungry. It's a great pattern, for my body anyway, and one that I may adopt for myself from time to time as my other obligations permit.

The conference was good, on the whole. I spent Friday evening exploring Zaragoza, doing a couple of tourist things. There are two beautiful cathedrals and an impressive castle -- more ceremonial and palatial than the military ones I've toured in Scotland. This latter includes the tower that is the setting and inspiration for the play on which Verdi's Il Trovatore is based. Neat..

Here are pictures I took of Zaragoza.

Saturday morning I returned to Barcelona. (I had no trouble getting a ticket this time, although I didn't manage to do it online in advance, as I'd resolved to. My weekend in Barcelona will take a post or two of its own. As I write now, it's Monday midday and I'm flying from Barcelona to Amsterdam, then on back to Edinburgh. I'll sleep well tonight.

Wed, 27 May 2009 17:56:12 GMT

Written Tuesday midday.

As you may have noticed, I haven't been writing lately. I've been really bad about reading, too. Maybe I'll try to get in the habit of writing more again.

Life's been busy, if not terribly interesting. I've given a couple of presentations in the past two weeks at Arché, and this week I'm off to a conference in Spain where I'll give two more. (Indeed, I'm typing on the plane.) It's a conference based on the work of Ernest Sosa, who was my Ph.D. advisor; I'll be talking about his recent work on intuitions, and also about the problem of easy knowledge. I've sort of been giving myself a bit of a crash course in Spanish for the past couple of months, but I'm afraid I didn't devote myself to it sufficiently. It didn't help that I didn't really have anyone to practice with. So I'm pretty much going to be one of those Americans who goes abroad and only speaks English. At least I have the self-consciousness to be a bit embarrassed about it. Maybe I'll keep working on Spanish after my trip anyway; it'd be a useful life skill in general, especially if I go back to the States.

The Red Sox are in first place now. That's exciting. I traded Ervin Santana for David Ortiz in my fantasy league; it feels like I'm about the only person in the world who is optimistic about Papi right now, but I'm really hoping he'll come around. That, or Santana goes back on the DL! Brian and Ishani had me over to watch the game at their place last night; I do appreciate afternoon games. (Much more often than I should, I stay up until 2:30, listening to the WRKO feed in bed on my iPhone.)

We had a workshop on epistemology and contextualism last weekend at Arché. It was good, but I fell behind on sleep. Not a good thing, going into a conference. I don't know whether I'll get a chance to catch up on sleep until next week. If that's the case, I'll crash hard. Or maybe I'll find a way to sneak a few extra hours sometime in the next couple of days. My talks at the conference are both tomorrow. (I'm writing Tuesday mid-day on the plane; not sure when I'll get to post this. My guess is late Tuesday night.)

I have a strong instinct to apologize for a boring post. I won't; I think my life's better when I write about it, and that only happens when I'm in the habit of writing, whether it feels entry-worthy or not.

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:38:17 GMT

So you've heard, maybe, that President Obama has instituted a council on women and women's issues. Cool.

The Christian Right is complaining. What could one complain about? The usual things: sex and abortion. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council writes:

Yesterday ... President Obama launched the White House Council on Women and Girls in front of a roomful of abortion activists--not the least of which is the council's newly appointed executive director, Tina Tchen. As a former vice president of the National Organization of Women (NOW), Tchen leaves little doubt that the council's biggest pursuit for women and girls will be abortion and contraception.

No surprises here. But here's the funny thing. What is Tony Perkin's support for the claim that the new council's primary support will be abortion and contraception (as opposed to the issues Obama actually mentioned in presenting the new council: "pay disparities, domestic violence, and the relatively few women in Congress and in the executive offices of major companies)? Here's the rest of Perkin's piece in its entirety, where he explains how he knows that abortion is the top agenda:

The agenda was no secret when Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood, was first out of the starting gate to applaud the new office. "We look forward to working with the president and [the Council] on issues...including providing comprehensive health care information and services, reducing unintended pregnancies and decreasing... STDs," she said. As part of yesterday's signing ceremony, President Obama specifically named members of the Cabinet and other high-level advisors to the team--a move that leads many of us to believe he is aligning each Department to press for stronger pro-abortion policies.

Bafflingly, the quotation -- which was cherry-picked by Perkins -- doesn't even mention abortion. We have a laundry list of objectives: health care information and services, reduced unintended pregnancies, and decreased STDs. (The ellipses stood for "the alarming number of".) Which of those goals does Perkins oppose?

This Christian fringe has lost its grip on the federal government, and it's quickly losing its hold on the GOP, too, but it isn't going quietly. It's remarkable now that, judging by statements like this one, it's barely paying lip service to the pretense that it isn't the anti-woman party. I mean, seriously: the White House institutes a new council on women -- not mentioning a word about focusing on abortion -- and your first instinct is to oppose it?

That's some crazy shit, man.

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 12:46:36 GMT

I'm back in St. Andrews. It's weirdly empty of people I know. (Arché isn't in session yet.) But I have plenty to do. I'm preparing lecture notes for my course, which I'll start giving Wednesday. We're also deep into Mikado rehearsals; that goes up the week after next.

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 08:37:21 GMT

Tell me a secret! Anonymously or not. Comments are screened and won't show up.

Stipulative definitions and saddlebacking

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 09:15:31 GMT

I don't put much stock in dictionaries, or in definitions. With respect to nuance regarding words that I know and use competently, I trust my own linguistic intuitions much more than what's recorded in the dictionary -- that's just somebody's attempt to codify a piece of common knowledge. Codification is hard. Words are almost never defined stipulatively.

Of course, on occasion, they are. When a word is introduced by stipulation, then, surely, the definition is authoritative. Right? I'm not sure. Lewis says that the naturalness of a property plays some role in fixing the referent of a term; suppose someone stipulates, but the stipulation carves nature in a wacky place, and a slightly different carving would prove much more natural. (Suppose that's how some of our natural kind terms were first introduced.)

I've always been skeptical about this sort of approach. But tonight, I found myself reacting to a stipulative definition by thinking, "that's not the right definition". How strange! Dan Savage solicited suggestions for a definition for the verb "to saddleback," in honor of anti-gay activist Rick Warren's home church. Today he declared a winner, offering this definition:

Saddlebacking: sad•dle•back•ing \?sa-d?l-?ba-ki?\ vb [fr. Saddleback Church] (2009): the phenomenon of Christian teens engaging in unprotected anal sex in order to preserve their virginities

After attending the Purity Ball, Heather and Bill saddlebacked all night because she’s saving herself for marriage.

I've read the definition, and the sample sentence, and now grasp the term. I think I'm a competent user of this piece of English. And I think the definition is wrong. I don't mean that I'm resolving to use the term in a different way from the way Dan is; I mean that this now-public word doesn't have the semantic value that Dan's definition says it does. In particular, I don't think that "Heather and Bill saddlebacked" entails that anyone is a Christian, or that anyone is a teen. I think that unmarried 20-year-old Muslims who think that virginity is important could saddleback.

I'm less sure about this part, but I also suspect that it's possible to saddleback with a condom.

Cut Taxes, Not Children

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 00:47:02 GMT

Today's headline from the Right-Wing Family Research Counsel is v. weird. The headline is Cut Taxes, Not Children. In it, Tony Perkins complains about stimulus funding supporting birth control. I guess teaching teenagers about condoms is kind of like 'cutting children'. Is the idea that if there's more birth control, there will be fewer (unwanted) pregnancies, so we've 'cut' the level of children in this country? Or is it that birth control cuts children, the same way that a knife does? It is a v. big mystery!

The best part, though, is this amazing graphic:

I'm thinking about making that an LJ icon, just for the sake of the wacky non sequitor. Seriously, this whole thing is kinda surreal.

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:41:36 GMT

Yesterday, I was having a coffee on a bench outside a Peet's Coffee in Oakland. A boy, maybe seven years old, sat down next to me. I looked over at him and smiled, and he said: "I like your hat." I replied, "thanks very much." I was wearing my favorite Red Sox cap. I started to turn back to the paper I was reading, but he wasn't done. "Because they're my favorite team."

"Oh yeah? Mine too. Are you from Boston?"

"No, because Manny used to be on that team."

"Yeah, that's true. That's a weird guy, Manny Ramirez. I don't really get him."

"But now he's on the Dodgers."

"Actually, he's a free agent now. But he was on the Dodgers last year. We don't know yet what team he'll play for this year."

"But then the Red Sox got Jason Bay."

"That's true -- that worked out pretty well."

"Do you remember that one time, one or two games after he joined the team, that Jason Bay, umm, he made a diving catch!"

"He's a good fielder, yeah."

At this point, his mother had come out of Peet's. "I bet I can guess what you two are talking about."

"See you later, man," I said.

It was a charming and weird couple of minutes.

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 04:26:36 GMT

I've just begun re-reading the Cornish Trilogy. I had forgotten (a) how much I love Robertson Davies, and (b) that I have a mystical side.

writing prompts

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 07:40:39 GMT

I haven't been writing much in here lately, but I think I'd like to be. But I don't really know what to say. Here's an open call for post ideas. Anything about me you want to know? Or anything else you want to know my thoughts about? Fire away. No question too stupid/basic/personal/difficult/boring/whatever (to ask! -- no promises, here).

Work goals

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 02:22:53 GMT

Today is January 13. There is practically nothing on my calendar for the next month. I'm at my parents' in California, where there are relatively few distractions. (Bay Area friends: you're welcome to distract some!) These should be ideal conditions for writing, and that's what I want to do. I have a ton of works in progress, and in the next month, I intend to make lots of progress. Here's what I'm working on,

1. Sosa/Intuition paper. Working title that I don't love is "Sosa on Virtue, Intuition, and Philosophy". This is almost entirely focused on the chapter on intuitions in Ernie's recent book. I criticize his critique of a perceptual model of intuitions, and offer a virtue-theoretic approach to the role of intuitions in philosophy that, I think, fits well with his broader epistemological picture. This material is difficult, but I think I'm getting somewhere. If I continue to be inspired this evening, I hope to finish a first draft of this one tonight. I plan to submit this to a Sosa conference in Spain this spring, and also maybe to present it in Oslo in March and/or at Arché sometime in the near future. There's also an Estonian journal on intuitions that this might fit well into.

2. "Intuitions and Begging the Question". There's a draft of this in decent shape on my website (under a different name). I want to revise it to discuss some of the existing literature on begging the question, and maybe a few other things. I'm presenting a version of it in San Jose Feb. 11, and probably also in Oslo in March. (And maybe in Bloomington, too.) I expect that around March I can start thinking about submitting it. This one's pretty close.

3. Paper on truth in fiction that definitely needs a title better than the old one, "Authorial Authority and Truth in Fiction". I wrote this paper three or four years ago at Brown. I still think the view is right, but the paper is bad. I'm trying to write a new one that's good. I did a significant amount of work on it in September, before being distracted by other things. I just need to finish this one up. I'm going to submit it to Australasian.

4. "Imagination and Possibility," co-authored with Ben. We sent this to Nous, a very highly regarded journal, where it was rejected, but with some encouraging comments. We're revising now, and mean to submit somewhere else. I think we shouldn't need to do all that much in order to have it ready to send out again.

5. Now we're into the sketchier projects. I have some ideas about trying to resolve the tension between two views in epistemology that I like: contextualism about 'knows' and Williamson-style 'knowledge-first' epistemology. I'll talk about knowledge and norms, like the knowledge norms for belief and assertion, and maybe also evidence. I've written the first section, where I set out two of the problems. But I have only a sketchy idea for the solution. It might be one of my wackier views, but I think it's worth getting down. Working title I just thought of: "Contextualism and 'Knowledge' First Epistemology"

6. Ben and I have plans for a third paper (beyond #4 above, and one already-published), concerning "Apriority". (Maybe we'll have a jazzier title eventually!) This one's in the very early stages, but I'd like to start getting it into a skeleton format.

An ambitious, but not totally unrealistic, goal has, in the next month, a draft of (1) and a new draft of (2) on my website, (3) and (4) submitted to journals, (5) in a draft-ready-to-start-talking-to-people-about stage, and (6) starting to take shape. That's a lot, but I think I can do it.

playing with video

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:41:40 GMT

This is kinda fun.

busy lately

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:27:17 GMT

I miss posting. Maybe I'll have a new spurt of it soon. Maybe.

News: I was cast as Pooh-Bah in the university group Mikado next term. That should be fun.

Other news: I'm giving a paper at a conference in Finland this weekend.

Other news: I'm going to the States December 23.

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:56:14 GMT

I'll probably try to write some thoughts on election night soon. I stayed up until they called it at 4:00 a.m.; I'm deeply moved in a way it'll take a little thinking to be able to describe properly.

Lindsey Beyerstein has some amazing photos of people celebrating in New York. For example:

Finally, this disagreement strikes me as an accurate one:

Barack Obama

I've always believed that we should have a playoff system in college football. I'm not sure who came up with the idea for the BCS formula we use today, but to borrow a phrase I've used over and over on the campaign trail, it's time for a change. I'm tired of all the confusion and controversy that boils over at the end of every college football season, and I think an eight-team playoff would make a lot of sense.

John McCain

Ideally it would be great to have a college football playoff system, but practically I'm not sure it will ever occur. There are a lot of factors involved with making this happen, including school schedules, potential for injuries and others. But if it doesn't happen, I think the regular season in college football and conference championships, not to mention the bowl games, are terrific. Some in Congress have seen fit to get involved with this issue, but I do not believe it is a federal responsibility unless there is some fundamental unfairness or anticompetitive conduct at issue.

Just a few links

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:29:53 GMT

Some help from 538 if you're watching on election night: the scenarios McCain needs, and the election-night guide.
A quirky baseball rule: see the third question from the bottom.
You've seen all the Obama pumpkins. I even had one in my window last week. But these are the best.
Amazing animal photos
The McCain campaign hates Doonesbury.
An anti-abortion anti-Obama ad. (The answer to the question, surely is, it depends on whether it's a switch or a fat man!)

And finally:

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 22:16:46 GMT

I'm late to the party on this one, but in case you haven't seen it: Where's Joe?
HA HA HA HA HA! The media shouldn't criticize politicians, because doing so violates first amendment rights?!?!?!? This is almost as funny as the awesome joke I posted Friday.
Baby ocelots. And jaguars.
I am continually amazed by the octopus.
A contrasting look at Fox News and MSNBC.
This is my favorite conspiracy theory yet. (And more analysis.)
Ben Affleck does a very funny Keith Olbermann. It's not accurate in the Tina Fey style; it's more of a hilarious exaggeration. But oh, how hilarious. And, while we're on the topic, John McCain is funny again! Huh.

oooo spooky

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:30:44 GMT

Here's a joke I just heard!

Q: Why do computer scientists send presents on Halloween?
A: Because Oct 31 = Dec 25.

Ha ha ha!

Happy Halloween, everybody.

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:05:43 GMT

I haven't written about life in a while. Not much to report, I guess. I'm writing. Just booked a whole bunch of plane tickets. I had (mostly spectated, really) an interesting conversation about Norway and the EU last night. I know embarrassingly little about European politics.

I was invited to a Halloween party. Hmm.

Links!

McCain-Palin Bollywood music video weirdness
Picture worth six words: "The Republican Party is So Screwed"
Sarah recounts an absurd book of knock-knock jokes (with INSANE pictures)
Richard Dawkins, apparently, doesn't know the difference between fiction and misinformation. (Also: how hilarious is it that he's referred to in the headline as 'Atheist Richard Dawkins'?)
Remember this Bible passage? Just sayin'.
This made me cry a little.

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:43:41 GMT

Linkses

McCain campaign hires ground-game mercenaries (who mostly support Obama)
More pictures of Obama with kids, focusing this time on girls.
While we're on the topic: great pictures of Obama in the rain in Pennsylvania. I wish I'd been there (like my friend Corinne -- jealous!). (Let's just NOT think about William Henry Harrison, shall we?)
A funny advertisement in Manhattan.
Indiana telemarketers walk out instead of reading ridiculous anti-Obama scripts.
A crazy surreal video of all three Presidential debates simultaneously.
Sarah Palin is a OMG SOCIALIST.
Sam Bee on so-called "women's health".
An enlightening video on the effects of abortion laws on women who don't want abortions.

100% politics so far... can't have that... I'm a well-rounded individual, I swear... AHA:

pictures of a baby turtle hatching. And then, something even cuter.

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 22:06:20 GMT

Linkz

Joe Biden is seriously refreshing. Among his quotes to this hostile reporter: "C'mon, let's get real here." "Are you joking? Is this a joke? Is that a real question?" "I don't know who's writing your questions." I LOVE THIS INTERVIEW. (Sad truth: he can get away with it because he's a white man with a big smile. But still.)
AWESOME CLAYMATION CHESS.
A NYT article about pundit school.
Division in the ranks. Is Sarah Palin setting up the be the future face of the GOP? (Yes please?)
I think this blog is less funny than probably some people do, but this one made me laugh.
In case there was any doubt: Sarah Palin is not a feminist. No, seriously.
Obama is chill like Jesus.
I wish I owned this sign.
Ha ha this guy has a muppet driving his car.

Politics video humor

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:53:34 GMT

And I linked this the other day, but am now embedding in case you missed it.

Classic 2000 Bud commercial:

The reunion:

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:17:51 GMT

I went for a run yesterday. I stopped halfway through to snap these two pictures:

St. Andrews is, among other things, a beautiful place.

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 16:08:01 GMT

Lots of links today.

Two things I'm seriously considering buying: this and this. (I need to find out whether both actually work as advertised.)
Terrorists for McCain.
But Sarah Palin doesn't even know what a terrorist is.
Barack Obama kicks ass at fantasy football.
So what's the deal with that ACORN stuff? ACORN explains.
You heard about the $150,000 of Palin clothing, right? Don't forget hair and makeup!
The trailer for the new season of LOST is here. It's exciting in a doesn't-really-show-much-about-the-new-season sort of way. (Spoilers for seasons 1-4, obviously.)
What a bizarre commercial about women and shoes. And while we're at it, what a bizarre shoe. The world is weird.
Apple opposes Proposition 8. I guess they're probably gonna make the list.
The NYT, like 72% of newspapers, endorses Barack Obama.
Today's Sinfest made me cry a little bit.
The piglet squid gets my nomination for the cutest thing in the world.
Staying in the ridiculously cute department: FAO Schwarz lets you make your own muppet.
First, remind yourself how the old Budweiser 'Wassup' commercial went. Then watch this (featuring the original cast!).

DEMOCRATIC SCARE TACTICS

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:27:49 GMT

In of the more clever ideas to come out of MoveOn.org, I received this in my email this morning:

I've already sent in my absentee ballot... but maybe I should double-check that it was received?