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November 10, 2006
Ellen Willis was a writer and critic who wrote for the
Voice, the
Nation, and
Dissent, among many others; her
NYU homepage and
Wikipedia entry link to a number of essays and reviews, all of which are worth your time. She didn't make me a feminist, but her writing gave me much of the intellectual framework of my feminism and throughout the depressing retreat of the '80s reminded me there was still humor and hope. (From her
Wikiquote page: "My deepest impulses are optimistic; an attitude that seems to me as spiritually necessary and proper as it is intellectually suspect.") She
died yesterday, of lung cancer, at the absurdly early age of 64. I'd like to quote from her "Escape from New York" (
Village Voice, July 29-Aug. 4, 1981), an account of a bus trip across the country that shows her inextricable mix of the personal, the political, and the just plain human: [more inside]
posted by languagehat at 6:43 PM PST - 15 comments
So you’re in a platoon with 30 or so guys. One of those guys is the
NFL player who gave up a multi-million dollar contract to be a hero in Afghanistan. He’s all broad shouldered NFL muscle. You can’t mistake him for anyone else in the platoon, much less an Afghani. So how do you put
three bullets in his forehead by mistake?
posted by Huplescat at 5:46 PM PST - 64 comments
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. With just a week to launch, the PS3 and Wii are almost here and there is plenty of help out there if you want to try scoring one on launch day. For the Wii,
read up on this guide, or
try this one for the ps3. The
Wiiseeker and
PS3seeker will tell you exactly how many units your closest Target, Walmart, and Gamestop will have ready to sell. Ask MeFi also offers help:
1,
2,
3. And the
latest MeFi Project helps those that are sticking it out at
Console Camp.
posted by mathowie at 9:48 AM PST - 85 comments
The Democrats' Sonny Bono? When George Bush used the 1970s
Orleans hit,
Still the One, as a campaign song in 2004,
John Hall issued Bush a
cease and desist order for using his song without permission. A founder of the antinuclear group,
Musicians United for Safe Energy (best known for the 1979 concert film,
No Nukes), Hall decided to
run for Congress in upstate New York, winning upset victories this year in both
the Democratic primary and
the general election against GOP incumbent,
Sue Kelly. Before his Congressional victory, Editor & Publisher posted
From Soundchecks to Soundbites, an interesting discussion with Hall about music journalism vs. political journalism.
posted by jonp72 at 8:18 AM PST - 30 comments
A Concrete Solution to Pollution With concerns over global warming and pollution control reaching an all-time high, an Italian company has developed an interesting solution. It is called TX Active: a concrete that literally breaks down pollutants in the air. The effects are significant: 'In large cities with persistent pollution problems caused by car emissions, smoke from heating systems, and industrial activities, both the company and outside experts estimate that covering 15% of all visible urban surfaces (painting the walls, repaving the roads) with products containing TX Active could abate pollution by up to 50%.' Even more significant is that the cost is only 30% over that of normal concrete. Remarkable.
posted by PreacherTom at 8:15 AM PST - 22 comments
Everyone by now has heard the story of
Oscar Schindler, but he wasn't the only one
saving Jews in the dark era of WW II. This story was kept secret for many years, until the last member of the
Leitz family died.
posted by pjern at 2:11 AM PST - 27 comments
