Awe-Inspiring Experiences:

Thanks to the generosity of the Templeton Foundation, a team of scholars centered on UCLA is engaged in a three-year process of exploring the world of awe-inspiring experience: also called mystical experience or primary religious experience.

The three day Awe to Action conference, one part of the UCLA program, has just wrapped up. Mark Kleiman has a quick report, and a slightly longer report.

dead / joplin

"DeLay requested that the new donation come from "a combination of corporate and personal money from Enron's executives," with the understanding that it would be partly spent on "the redistricting effort in Texas," said the e-mail to Kenneth L. Lay"

postpone ?

includes bush twins story

East river power.

If all goes well, an entire underwater wind farm of 200 to 300 sleek 15-feet-tall turbines will discreetly spin under the surface of the river by 2006, providing about 10 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 8,000 homes.

"That will make New York City one of the greenest cities in the world when it comes to locally produced clean energy," said Trey Taylor, the owner of Verdant Power, a company in Virginia that has been given permits by the city to build the submerged turbines.

Steve Jobs WWDC presentation on the next OSX (tiger) Supposedly impressive stuff related to the future of image & video processing, I haven't seen it yet as I'm on my land line. He gets into the capabilities of "core video" at about 1hr 10min. 

pornado report : asscroft

an official finding that we went to war under false pretenses

anyone still follow GYWO ?

From Yahoo (IPS):

A report prepared by the top CIA official handling the matter says Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the [Halabja] massacre, and indicates that it was the work of Iranians.

This is the infamous "gassing of the Kurds" incident that is the basis for the "Saddam used WMD against his own people" mantra. Before the war I remember hearing that it was really the Iranians, but then it seemed like anyone saying this was branded a nut job (or worse - a Saddam lover,) and I admit to being sort of convinced by this into believing it was Saddam.

Has anyone been following more closely? Is this the standard line now? Are you no longer crazy to suggest it was the Iranians? And has this been widely known, or is this new story big news?

That could be a little tough for the administration...

I've been trying, when appropriate, to get people to move away from Internet Explorer (just doing my part for homeland security.) So I guess I should stick with the follow through. To wit: there is a bug in Mozilla (and thus in Firefox) when run on Windows 2000 or Windows XP that can allow for remote execution of code. This bug has already been patched, so all you need to do is update your software to the latest version. For Firefox that would be 0.92. Here's the mozilla page with complete details on the vulnerability and what you need to do.

Waltzing Matilda

Bruno’s contention that “waltzing matilda” refers to hanging by the neck sounds plausible, but the references I’m finding confirm the (perhaps bowdlerized) meaning that I’ve always heard, in which waltzing matilda means carrying a swag bag, like a hobo with his belongings tied in bundle hanging on a stick. Perhaps there was a double reading intended.

feel like ive posted this before but...cinecultist.

"The architecture of Movie New York
Celluloid Skyline: New York and the Movies.
Great images. Makes me think, I love this City.

I got the scoop, its KERRY GEPHARDT

Parkett turns 20

From the WaPo:

In Nicholson Baker's new novella, "Checkpoint," a man sits in a Washington hotel room with a friend and talks about assassinating President Bush.

flight 404

its still 1974 in the i heart the 70's marathon on vhi

brando dead at 80

A silly season story, but a cool picture of an SUV in a swimming pool (via eyebeam reblog).

Bruce S on creeping Lysenkoism in the federal government under Bush.

Just incase someone is thinking about a career change. Reykjavik

"The government needs to establish guidelines for canceling or rescheduling elections if terrorists strike the United States again, says the chairman of a new federal voting commission."