Daily Archives: January 21, 2009

A Blow to Free Speech?

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Santi Tafarella

Richard Dawkins’s “There’s probably no God” bus ads got complaints (in Britain) to the Advertising Standards Authority, and it ruled that the ad campaign can continue: The Advertising Standards Authority said it assessed 326 complaints. Some claimed the wording was … Continue reading →

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See Here Michelle and Barack Obama’s Inaugural Dance

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Santi Tafarella
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Existential Absurdity in Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat” (1897)

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Santi Tafarella

Is the universe a chaos or a cosmos? Today’s quote comes from Stephen Crane’s short story, “The Open Boat” (1897). Stranded in a small life boat and caught in huge ocean swells—yet tantalizingly close to shore—four men contemplate their absurd … Continue reading →

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Joe Feels the Love—And Barack Returns It

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Santi Tafarella

This today in the Connecticut Post: Lieberman admits that it is a bit schizophrenic, but since election night, he said, he was both disappointed for his friend’s loss and thrilled with Obama’s victory. “It is amazing to remember that in … Continue reading →

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“It was the most genuine, spontaneous, universal moment of the day. It was like watching the ice go out on the river”: Garrison Keillor Describes the Ebullent Crowd Watching the Helicopter Apotheosis of George W. Bush

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Santi Tafarella

Watching the inauguration on television, I found myself feeling an enormous wave of relief at seeing George Bush rising by government helicopter, and drifting slowly away, like a balloon cut loose, for the (mercifully) last time. The live crowd appears to have … Continue reading →

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Social Policing and Trust Building in Groups: Two Things That Religion is Good For?

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Santi Tafarella

Jesse Bering, in Scientific American, reports on a small academic workshop on religion that he attended in Edinburgh, Scotland last week.  He offers a brief synopsis of some of the speculation surrounding the evolution of religion that the academics kicked around. Here are two … Continue reading →

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“I, too, sing America”: Barack Obama is the Change Langston Hughes was Waiting for, and Said Would One Day Come

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Santi Tafarella

I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I’ll be at the table When company comes. Nobody’ll dare … Continue reading →

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A Farewell Song to George Bush

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Santi Tafarella

What a relief!

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T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Santi Tafarella

A beautiful filmic rendering of T.S. Eliot’s poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”:

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“What if the mightiest word is love?”: See Here Elizabeth Alexander’s Poem (Read at Barack Obama’s Inauguration)

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Santi Tafarella

In contrast with Rick Warren’s depressingly prosaic, tone deaf, sectarian and artless invocation, I thought Elizabeth Alexander’s poem was a genuinely spiritual moment during the inauguration—a “prayer,” if you will—and a moving affirmation of human work, longing, and the supremacy of love—and “walking … Continue reading →

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