Nice piece here: The Resiliency of Apocalyptic Belief -
What do we not understand about the staying power of these ideas?
I think a lot of us have tended to assume a kind of progression of human history, that religion gradually fades out with the rise of science and the rise of different understandings of our natural [...]
A documentary (which I haven’t seen) by the author of that letter about the Wayseer Manifesto:
Via Dangerous Minds, I’ve never seen David Bowie describe “Ziggy Stardust” to this extent:
Burroughs: Could you explain this Ziggy Stardust image of yours? From what I can see it has to do with the world being on the eve of destruction within five years.
Bowie: The time is five years to go before the [...]
Scientific American on the new doomsaying:
Science may be a culprit, but it also offers some explanation for why we can be so fearful. Some researchers think that apocalyptic dread feeds off our collective anxiety about events that lie outside our individual control. The fear of nuclear war and environmental decay that gripped the nation in [...]
Recently connected to the writer Tony Vigorito. Haven’t read his novels yet, but I mean to, as they look right up my alley.
“Tony Vigorito’s inventive debut novel [is] a madcap adventure of a sinister government plot and an apocalyptic vision worthy of Kurt Vonnegut… Vigorito’s research is impressive, and the narrative pops [...]
Iran Unveils Approved Hairstyles:
Iran has unveiled haircuts that according to officials are in line with Iranian and Islamic principles.
Doctor Treating Pregnant Women With Experimental Drug To Prevent Lesbianism (via Technoccult):
Pediatric endocrinologist Maria New—of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Florida International University—isn’t just trying to prevent lesbianism by treating pregnant women with an experimental [...]
As usual, Daniel Pinchbeck condenses the fear, loathing, and hope the best. His two books are the major force behind The American Book of the Dead. Really tried to put this type of worldview into a novel. As I talk about in yesterday’s interview, I actually believe in this stuff – humanity is at [...]
What the hell:
A new and less well known asymmetric threat has surfaced in the Gulf of Mexico oil gusher. Methane or CH4 gas is being released in vast quantities in the Gulf waters. Seismic data shows huge pools of methane gas at the location immediately below and around the damaged “Macondo” oil well. Methane is [...]
This might have to be a weekly feature. Via Dangerous Minds, a time-lapse of a house decomposing:
Via The Australian: Frank Fenner sees no hope for humans
Fenner is an authority on extinction. The emeritus professor in microbiology at the Australian National University played a leading role in sending one species into oblivion: the variola virus [...]
Kids movies often have strange and borderline-inappropriate imagery. In “Madagascar 2,” the movie begins by going back in time. In order to show that this is years earlier, we see a view of the Manhattan skyline, including the twin towers. For some reason, the filmmakers thought it was a good idea to evoke the memory [...]