Tag Archives: memes

The Anti-Green Energy Meme

Courtesy of FOX News: __________ The reality? An industrial economy can get a substantial portion of its energy from renewables. Germany, for example, gets over 20% of its electrical power from renewables. Over 20%. And that number is projected to rise … Continue reading

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Definition and Origin of the Phrase “The Whole Nine Yards”

Blaise Pascal once wrote someone the following: “I have made this letter longer, because I have not had the time to make it shorter.” Today we might say that Pascal gave his reader, not the short version of his thought, … Continue reading

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Richard Dawkins and Memes

For being an early and vigorous defender of the theory of evolution by natural selection against its critics, 19th century biologist Julian Huxley became known as “Darwin’s bulldog.” In the late 20th and early 21st century, the sinewy and quick-witted … Continue reading

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Could a Virus Act Like a Religion (Inducing Zombie-Like Symptoms)?

Scientifically, it appears the answer is yes. __________ The above video reminds me of Daniel Dennett’s discussion of flukes: ___________ Take, eat. This is a body?

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Agnosticism and Marketing

At Marginal Revolution today, economist Tyler Cowen was asked about whether there are some especially good economic ideas out there that are hard to popularize, and his answer led to a brief digression on complexity and agnosticism: [I]t is hard to popularize … Continue reading

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Ron Paul wins the straw poll at CPAC 2010—and Fox News starts up its repetitive meme machine to dampen the result

Mixed reaction, mixed reaction, mixed reaction. Gasps and boos, gasps and boos, gasps and boos. Non-scientific poll, non-scientific poll, non-scientific poll. Fox spins. You decide:

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Is America a Christian Nation Founded by Christians?

No. Key players in the founding of America—such as Jefferson, Paine, and Franklin—were not Christians. They were Deists and religious skeptics. And other icons of America’s cultural history—people like Abraham Lincoln and Emily Dickinson—were agnostics with a lot of emotional ambivalence toward … Continue reading

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The Ironies Compound (and the Memes Multiply)

Here’s a video that ironically (and wonderfully) registers and deconstructs a scene genre within action films: the Stoic ice-hero who walks, calm and unblinking, away from explosions: But wait. Isn’t the above YouTube itself a genre piece (the ironic song about cookie-cutter … Continue reading

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A Great Quote on Books

Voltaire: The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbours, kindle it at home, communicate it to others and it becomes the property of all.

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The Quiverfull Movement and the Quiverfull Woman: Salon.com Does an Article on a Curious Patriarchal Fundamentalist Meme

Salon.com looks into the “Quiverfull movement” here. It’s a curious meme that helps disseminate one’s genes. I wonder what Richard Dawkins would make of this. Money quote: Vyckie Garrison wasn’t sure she wanted to use her real name in this … Continue reading

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