literateria

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Callie Shell's photos of Obama

Intimate, telling, moving. Well worth a look. (Warning: many large images.)

Friday, October 24, 2008

Perspective

I needed to know: can Obama pick a fantasy team? So I asked him.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Understanding the other

Peter Sagal on understanding the Obama Conspiracy Theorists.

In the real world, Barack Obama seems like he’s going to be elected President. This, as unlikely as it might have seemed as little as two years ago, is easily explained: the Republicans have done a poor job running the country, have a very unpopular incumbent President, and our nation likes to switch parties about every 8 to 12 years. Plus, Obama is a charismatic politician who’s run a very competent campaign.

Nonetheless, this reality is intolerable to some, and they have created an alternative narrative. In this narrative, Obama is “a Marxisant radical who all his life has been mentored by, sat at the feet of, worshipped with, befriended, endorsed the philosophy of, funded and been in turn funded, politically promoted and supported by a nexus comprising black power anti-white racists, Jew-haters, revolutionary Marxists, unrepentant former terrorists and Chicago mobsters.” Once elected, presumably, will reveal himself to be the monster that he is, in the manner of Kang and Kodos in that classic 1996 Treehouse of Horror episode of The Simpsons.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

A cultural moment

Meteor Blades talks about the Weather Underground and terror.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Cuba to become a petro-power

20bn barrel oil discovery puts Cuba in the big league

Oil drilling starting soon. Three-five years before Cuba sees significant returns.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Good Beat

Good Beat, by DeeLite. More retro to start the weekend.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Madonna divorcing Guy.

Not the sort of thing I normally blog about, but I remember thinking when they were married that it wouldn't last more than four years. Madonna doesn't seem to be a "happily ever after" type of person.

Economic racism?

So... there really are people who believe (i.e.: Bryon York) that giving "mortgages to people, particularly minorities, who could not afford them" was a prime cause of the nation's economic crisis.

It is a bit like arguing that the reason the I-35W Mississippi Bridge collapsed is because poor people were allowed to have cars.