#8: The Edge of the Sea by Rachel Carson (1953) #9: The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson (1961) The thermometer says it’s 23 degrees, but the wind blowing east off the Gulf of Maine says differently. I can hardly feel my fingers though my deerskin mittens have been off for less than half a […]
Archive | December, 2011
The Tech Curmudgeon – "Technology" means more than gadgets, people
There’s a world of technology beyond gadgets, games, and geeks, people. S&R’s Tech Curmudgeon rails on the asinine nature of today’s so-called “technology” reporting.
'God particle' refudiates religious right
By Robert Becker Is “Higgs boson” a creative particle or energy field? Can we thus infer an “anti-God particle,” as anti-matter opposes matter, or dark energy battles gravity? Any covenant with Godhead, in my book, comes down to Creation. Genesis, the source of time, space, and being; in short, existence. Especially our piddling existence. Without […]
Edward Abbey's uncompromising voice in the desert
#7: Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey (1968) Once more, I feel late to the party. I had no idea who Edward Abbey was, yet nearly every nonfiction writer I’ve read so far has referenced him. The only one who hasn’t was Thoreau, and that’s because Abbey hadn’t been born yet—and wouldn’t be for another sixty […]
Climate Science for Everyone: Why 3% annually is actually a lot of carbon dioxide
In this installment of Climate Science for Everyone – people are adding a lot of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere every year. But how much is “a lot,” really?
Tournament of Rock 3, Finals: The Blueflowers vs. The Lost Patrol
When ToR3 started some of you probably looked at the relative popularity of the bands involved, reflected in things like the size of their Facebook communities and the numbers of people they draw when they’re on tour, and figured the Finals would wind up featuring either The Horrors or The Postelles facing off with either […]
Auld Lang Newt: Gingrich’s messiah complex
by Robert S. Becker Here’s my New Year’s gift, a light bauble of a jingle for those normally put off by reason in rhyme. I gave up trying to take Newt seriously enough to write prose for him; like Kissinger per Tom Lehrer, he’s moving himself beyond satire. But I found a thesis and inspiration […]
Experiencing the Maine woods with Thoreau
#6: The Maine Woods by Henry David Thoreau (1864) Katahdin, some twenty miles to my west, looks like a sketch done in chalk, set against the winter-gray sky. Its ever-present clouds hover today down where its knees might be if the great mountain had them. Katahdin always has clouds. Henry David Thoreau described Katahdin as […]
Which religion is best?
I do not believe in God. Still, arguing against God, as Dawkins, Harris and the late Christopher Hitchens have done, is a mug’s game. Whether it’s Allah, or dead relatives, or the constellations, or stupid stuff from movies (the Force,) belief in an extrinsic, intercessionary force seems to be a basic human need. And where […]
A Year in the Maine Woods: "where the subtle matters, and the spectacular distracts"
#5: A Year in the Maine Woods by Bernd Heinrich (1994) When Bernd Heinrich retreated to a cabin in the mountainous forest of western Maine—a place “where the subtle matters, and the spectacular distracts”—he intended to live as close to nature as he could. He took a leave from his post as a professor of […]
Rivieras and Siberias and why players can't wait to get the hell out of most NBA cities
I’d like to offer up a theory. Tell me what you think. I’ve written some lately about the NBA, which despite all its flaws is still my favorite North American professional sports league. (My favorite pro league anywhere, of course, is the English Premiership, the greatest soccer league in the world.) In particular, I’ve pondered […]
Tournament of Rock 3, semi-final: Doco vs. The Blueflowers
Good friends Dotsun Moon and The Lost Patrol squared off in our first semi-final. TLP surged to an early lead, only to have DM mount a furious comeback. In the end, though, TLP was a little too much, holding on for the win and a spot in the Tournament of Rock finals. They await the […]
Nuclear weapons make rulers of states that possess them Hitlers waiting to happen
Nations still use Nazi Germany’s nascent nuclear-weapons program as a justification for developing or retaining nuclear weapons.
How we can all find beauty in a broken world
#4: Finding Beauty in a Broken World by Terry Tempest Williams (2009) Reading Terry Tempest Williams’ Finding Beauty in a Broken World following David Gessner’s My Green Manifesto proved to be a fortuitous coincidence. The two books work well in conversation with one another because both authors come to realize the importance of thinking local […]
Bryan Fischer and the American Family Association: diabolical voices of un-Christian, un-American hate
Fischer: ‘Allah is a demon god of darkness, violence, death, and destruction’ Right Wing Watch December 23, 2011 Considering Bryan Fischer makes so much hateful noise, is it any wonder that it’s relatively difficult to get in touch with him? More’s the pity. I had hoped to correct him for his error and apprise him […]
S&R Honors
Click here to learn more about past honorees...- “Where Girls Grow Strong” – and Boy Scouts follow
- Atheists in heaven? Vatican spin machine leaps into action
- I-5 bridge collapse: reflecting on our crumbling infrastructure
- UPDATED: Pope Francis says atheists can go to heaven: Sweet Jesus! The College of Cardinals done elected a hippie
- Magic Hat vs. West Sixth brewhaha: will MH win the battle that costs them the war?
- Mystery Unraveled: How a white, moderate, married, churchgoing, middle-class, middle-aged woman could vote for Obama
- An open letter to Burt Rutan, regarding his WSJ commentary on human-caused climate disruption
- Meet the men of Match.com: Really, guys, are you serious?
- Climate scientists still besieged
- Pelosi on Bush: “He’s not worth impeaching”
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Henry Earl: Incorrect, West Sixth has offered to make changes …
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dmitry solovyev: I am russian and about because of two cruel war be…
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Lex: That's what i say when people quote the Bible, sin…
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geral sosbee (@gsosbee): Thanks for the report; pls see a few of mine which…
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