Tag Archives: Friday Links

Here’s a link in case you can’t see the embedded video.

Have an exemplary weekend!

By now you’ve probably heard about New Horizons reaching Pluto (and immediately leaving – how rude!). Naturally, nasa.gov has the hookups on all your Pluto science and photo needs.

NPR has a nice mission-to-Pluto tribute, complete with a video that includes Ray Bradbury reading a lovely poem, a couple good photos, and another video that neatly summarizes the mission in sixty seconds.

The Onion summarizes what we’ve learned about Pluto.

Stephen Colbert interviewed Neil deGrasse Tyson, a.k.a. the Planet-Killer, about our latest triumph. Here’s a brief, hilarious excerpt. The full interview is just as hilarious, and enlightening too, featuring a handy explanation of how a gravitational slingshot really works.

Another cool video – a short film called “Wanderers” – not explicitly tied to our ninth (ex) planet, but still beautiful, and featuring the voice of Carl Sagan.

And finally, an “astronomically correct” version of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Created with help from Zach Weinersmith, the guy who does SMBC comics.

For those of you still bound to Earth, have a frisson-inducing weekend!

This news is about a week old, but here it is anyway: Iceland’s Pirate Party wins repeal of blasphemy law. I’m not sure which is crazier – that the Pirate Party apparently has some legit influence in Iceland, or that Iceland had a blasphemy law in the first place. Before this change, it was a crime to “ridicule or insult” the teachings of a legally recognized religious community, under penalty of fine or imprisonment. Bizarre.

Even more bizarre is the Orwellian response issued by the Catholic Church of Iceland: “Should freedom of expression go so far as to mean that the identity of a person of faith can be freely insulted, then personal freedom – as individuals or groups – is undermined.” One would hope this is not the official position of the Vatican.

Also, SMBC sums up my thoughts on language more perfectly than I ever thought was possible.

Have a resplendent weekend.

In nearly fifty years, in over seventeen thousand strips, there’s only one Peanuts strip where we actually get to see the Little Red-Haired Girl – and then only in silhouette. The date is May 25, 1998, less than two years before the end.

Have a meritorious weekend!

‘Man With The Golden Arm’ Donates Blood That Has Saved 2 Million Babies – and now I feel like a schmuck, having only saved a hundred thousand.

Have a great weekend!

Sir Christopher Lee has died at age 93. He played Dracula, Fu Manchu, Saruman, Count Dooku, Bond villain Scaramanga, and Frankenstein’s monsters – among many other roles – in a career that spanned over 250 movies. He could trace his lineage back to Charlemagne, he released a heavy metal album at 92, and he seems to have been respected and loved by many who worked with him. He never retired; he went on acting right up till the end.

You Are Not Dr. Seuss. A good analysis of why so many Dr. Seuss imitators fail so badly. (Answer: among other virtues, Dr. Seuss commanded not only excellent rhyme but also excellent meter. Most people only get the rhyme.) My own poetry is far from perfect, but I have long prided myself on sterling meter.

Astounding scientific fact: this weekend, our planet will make two complete rotations. Don’t miss it! See you Monday.

Congress and the President have finally ended the NSA’s bulk phone records collection program. It’s progress. Not the endgame by any means, but an excellent first step. Meanwhile, fresh revelations come to light.

Significantly, it appears that Congress has shifted its thinking on this key issue. The Senate approved the reform by a two-to-one margin, in spite of vocal opposition from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. It’s progress.

I commend Senator Rand Paul, in particular, for his firm stance in defense of civil liberties. Call it grandstanding if you like, but I’ll take it. I don’t agree with all his ideas by any means, but I think he’s a man worth listening to, as argued by Fareed Zakaria.

And of course, whatever you may think of Edward Snowden, it’s clear at least that none of this valuable reform would have happened without him.

I am very proud to say that my wife, my friends (including Mr. Trube), and I played some role, however small, in the fight to restore our civil liberties. In his farewell address to the nation, President Eisenhower said:

We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex….We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

And, for what it’s worth, here’s the text of the Fourth Amendment, which is only one sentence long:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

It’s clear, as I read the news now, that I’ve been out of the loop too long. I need to pay more attention to what’s going on in the world. I’ll do my best.

In other news: I found out yesterday that presidential candidate Lindsey Graham has never sent an e-mail in his life. Not one. Let that sink in for a minute.

And finally: no politics, just beauty. Some of the earliest color photos ever taken, pre-World War I. Enjoy.

Have a great weekend! I’ve got something fun planned for Monday.

Dorothy Kenyon was one of the first people who McCarthy accused of being Communist in the 1950s.

Sixty-two at the time, she responded by calling McCarthy a “liar” and a “coward,” and stated publicly: “I am not, and never have been, a supporter of, a member of, or a sympathizer with any organization known to me to be, or suspected by me, of being controlled or dominated by Communists.”

She got support from the New York Times as well as Eleanor Roosevelt, and was soon vindicated by the Senate subcommittee investigating McCarthy’s charges. McCarthy soon backed off.

Kenyon was also a judge, lawyer, and civil rights activist. She served on a UN commission and was, for a long time, the only woman on the ACLU board. She strongly influence future Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

No point here except that amazing people should get recognition. Have a great weekend!

Sad but fascinating true story.

Have a great weekend!