Boing Boing: Grand Canyon bookstore still selling Creationist myth Unbelievable. BoingBoing reported years ago that the official bookstore at the Grand Canyon was selling a book that claimed that it was the result of Noah's flood and was therefore explicable in a fundamentalist, Bible-based world-view. I once had the distinct displeasure of arguing with someone who actually believed this kind of thing; the sciences of geology and stratigraphy were dismissed as some sort of side-effect of the first day of Creation. All the embedded fossils were held to be tricks of the Devil, meant to distract us from the Biblical…
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Caveat Lector » Trafalgar and Westminster Despite my mother’s enthusiastic recommendation, I found Westminster Abbey a difficult place to visit, and should I return to London, I don’t believe I will return there. The church itself is well-built and handsome, but its graceful old bones are impossible to see for all the plaques and busts and sculptures and coats-of-arms and regimental flags and inscriptions and decorated tombs and every other imaginable memorial created by the hand of man tumbling all over each other and fighting for attention. Many of them would be quite beautiful, were there enough negative space around…
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Great Performances . From Vienna: The New Years Celebration 2005 | PBS I've been listening to KUNC's "eclectic music" programming via streaming Internet just now, and they announced that they'll be broadcasting the annual New Year's concert from Vienna later this afternoon. I started crying. Last night at midnight, I was just dozing off when firecrackers and loud "reports" (guns or M-80s or whatever) started going off. It occured to me that 2007 was a year without Mom in it, and started crying. Yesterday, at the farewell liturgy for Holy Innocents (AKA Holy Moly), a former vicar came up to…
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David and I celebrated Jewish Christmas yesterday with my in-laws; we went to a movie and then drove around looking for a Chinese restaurant that was open. Actually, we never did, but a sports bar was open, so that's where we ended up eating. The movie was "The Good Shepherd," which was extremely layered and nuanced. You really had to pay attention to details, and the foreshadowing was there for the ending, but it was so subtle that when I pointed it out to my husband David, he was amazed. Matt Damon's performance as CIA man Edward Wilson was masterful;…
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mediatinker.com The other day I was listening to an interview with an author on NPR when a call-in comment made me stop and think. This caller, John from Chicago, explained the powerful creative tool he learned from doing improv comedy. "Yes! And…" Whoa. Two words that affirm and springboard to more ideas. How simple. I can see that these two words will create a spark in my creative projects – and in my business and personal life, too. Let's all say it together (good and loud now): "Yes! And…" Aha!! My brother-in-law Mitch will recognize this, as he's taken improv…
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The work on Mom's house is done. It's an atypical house for its Salt Lake neighborhood: it's a Cape Cod in a sea of Prairie Bungalows and Brick Tudors. Before: I can tell you from personal experience that the various patterns and strips of wallpaper were a bitch to get off. And Mom always hated that PINK! TUB! and the salmon colored toilet, which most emphatically did not match. After: Very basic, very white. New tile in all the bathrooms, the kitchen, and the entryway. New flooring in the "family" room (which was the dining room, but oh well).…
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Via: Flickr Title: Leg cabin By: GinnyRED57 Originally uploaded: 17 Dec '06, 3.35pm CST PST
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Wessex Archaeology And Flickr: How We Use Web 2.0 – 24 Hour Museum – official guide to UK museums, galleries, exhibitions and heritage Wessex Archaeology is one of the largest commercial archaeological practices in the UK, employing over 160 people. We are a registered charity with educational objectives and play a vital role in helping people learn about their past. In September 2005, we decided the Wessex Archaeology gallery (on the web) was looking a little long in the tooth. It was using a proprietary ASP gallery script and the process of uploading new photos was a…
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Bits & Pieces: Fender skirts and steering knobs On a smaller scale, "wall-to-wall" was once a magical term in our homes.In the '50s, everyone covered his or her hardwood floors with, wow, wall-to-wall carpeting! Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors. Go figure. This is what has now been done with Mom's house. The hardwood floors under the living room carpet were in fairly good shape, except for the entry way that Mom sorta ruined by putting down self-stick vinyl flooring. The floors in the dining room weren't the same quality, as it was formerly a garage, so new flooring was…
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Bits & Pieces: Fender skirts and steering knobs On a smaller scale, "wall-to-wall" was once a magical term in our homes.In the '50s, everyone covered his or her hardwood floors with, wow, wall-to-wall carpeting! Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors. Go figure. This is what has now been done with Mom's house. The hardwood floors under the living room carpet were in fairly good shape, except for the entry way that Mom sorta ruined by putting down self-stick vinyl flooring. The floors in the dining room weren't the same quality, as it was formerly a garage, so new flooring was…