[In case it needs to be said: I don't agree with every word of everything I link to. --L.]
- X-ray scanning reveals return address of 3500 year old letters
- [io9 - Alasdair Wilkins]
Even thousands of years ago, written messages were sent over long distances. Unfortunately, the concept of including your return address hadn't been invented yet, so we don't know where ancient letters came from (and which cultures were talking)…until now.
- Print out and fold your own paper TARDIS and Daleks
- [io - Cyriaque Lamar - 7 days ago]
Deviantart user CyberDrone has created a ton of Doctor Who Cubeecraft art. Print out a TARDIS, some Daleks, and a few Cybermen to watch the refreshment table at your next Who viewing party. Don't print out Davros — he's pruny.
- Triceratops controversy shakes paleontology to its bones
- [io9 - Annalee Newitz - 2 days ago]
- Same-sex marriage
- [The Big Picture, four days ago]
…Walker's ruling [on Prop 8] is one of a number of recent decisions made by voters and governments around the world affecting the ability of same-sex couples to marry legally. Around the U.S., several states are challenging the 1996 Defense of Marriage act, both Washington DC and Mexico City legalized same-sex weddings last March, and on July 15th, Argentina became the first Latin American country to recognize same-sex marriage. Collected here are a handful of recent photos of couples in several countries, all in the process of getting married. (26 photos total)
- OMG! 5! – Five ways to free space in Ubuntu
- [OMG! Ubuntu! - Joey Sneddon]
- GIF: The Love Shared Between Kitteh And Bunneh
- [I Can Has Cheezburger]
[NSFW for kitty- and bunny-related values of Not Safe. -L]
- Math Trek: The pattern collector
- [Science News]
The Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences outgrows its creator
- The dehumanizing language and myths around immigration
- [Pandagon - Amanda Marcotte]
The Handmaid’s Tale had the term “Unwoman” to describe women who had no sexual or reproductive value to the patriarchy and were thrown out. In 1984, the “proles” were basically seen as animals. In Logan’s Run, people over 35 who don’t submit to execution willfully are called “runners”. I’m sure you can come up with a million examples. In science fiction, the process of casting a group of people out (or targeting them for extermination), and then giving them a dehumanizing nickname is one of the most common tropes.
“Illegals” sounds like a term straight out of this sci-fi tradition, except it’s happening in real life. And when it comes to the treatment of undocumented immigrants, this is a sci-fi style dystopia. Check out this story, for instance…
[ARGH SERIOUSLY FEEDLY WHAT THE FUCK.
http://getsatisfaction.com/feedly/topics/new_invisible_buttons_not_so_<wbr>great-L]
The Link(s): Sat, Aug 7th, 10am to Sun, Aug 8th, 2pm by Lee Salazar, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Terms and conditions beyond the scope of this license may be available at leesalazar.com.