Tag Archives: linkdump

What drives some people to collect dinosaur bones? The author of this piece was a high school classmate of mine. Oklahoma really wants to hate the gays. This guy hates The Big Bang Theory more than you do. (Warning: profanity) … Continue reading →

Evangelicals deserve Donald Trump. “Eventually, the two parties may come to agree on the challenges the country faces, and then have actual discussions — and disagreements and competition — over how to address them. That’s bipartisanship. And counterintuitive as it … Continue reading →

“This is such an ancient trope — crazy scientists doing outrageous experiments with money you could be investing in my uranium mine — that I wonder if anyone actually falls for it.” The next ice age may be a little … Continue reading →

“This is the job you dream of having; you can make such a big impact.” A close look at the Working Families Party and its electoral successes. We could use some of that here in Texas. “Drug epidemics—Oxy, meth, heroin, … Continue reading →

Good news: Really rich people are suddenly paying quite a bit more in taxes. Star Trek postage stamps are now available. RIP, Wayne Rogers, best known as Trapper John on M*A*S*H. RIP, “death panels”. And good riddance. All politicians lie, … Continue reading →

“As relations between Cuba and the United States warm up, Major League Baseball is hoping to avoid human trafficking of potential players by dealing directly with the communist government.” Cassette tapes are making a comeback? Seriously? On average, 2015 was … Continue reading →

What assembling IKEA furniture tells us about gender differences. “So basically what’s going on is that NBC is allowing Bush Hagar to use her journalistic credentials and access to shill for one side in this marketing war. This, folks, is … Continue reading →

So, when are pot ads going to start running on TV? The Happy Birthday copyright case has been fully settled. A low-tech solution for finding new kinds of antibiotics may be just what we need. “But many of the more … Continue reading →

An oral history of Mork and Mindy. In doing too much reading on the tragic mass shooting in San Bernadino, I happened to come across this New Yorker story about Amy Bishop, a microbiologist at the University of Alabama who … Continue reading →

How Shonda Rhimes treats story lines that involve abortion. Felicia Day joins the MST3K revival. Nerds rejoice. “I mention all this not just to point out that the fighting in Iraq lasted longer than five months and has now spread … Continue reading →

“Crime overall in 2015 is expected to be largely unchanged from last year, decreasing 1.5 percent.” “No, really. It’s an actual glossy, full-color magazine called Dabiq, complete with feature articles and photo spreads. So, in the interest of understanding just … Continue reading →

An oral history of Turkeys Away, the greatest episode of WKRP in Cincinnati and one of the greatest TV episodes ever. “As the Internet of Things grows, we can scarcely afford a massive glut of things that are insecure-by-design.” “The … Continue reading →

Nancy Lieberman is awesome. Doing spec work for free is something most people are never asked to do. Another reason not to eat at Taco Bell, in case you needed one. Two words: Pyramid truthers. I need a drink. RIP, … Continue reading →

“So the question remains: When a crime lab screws up, whose responsibility is it to clean up the mess?” And then read this and ask yourself why we should be surprised when there are effectively no consequences for that kind … Continue reading →

Laverne Cox is your new Dr. Frank N. Furter. Minor league baseball players suing MLB over allegations that they were paid less than minimum wage have won their request to include a much larger class of players in the lawsuit. … Continue reading →

I’m not saying it’s aliens, but I’m not saying it’s not aliens, either. The buildings that used to be Pizza Huts, and the people who love to photograph them. “A former meerkat expert at London Zoo has been ordered to … Continue reading →

“Mom says she’s busy and that you should just tell me where the thing is, because I promised not to get it.” Yes, I have had these conversations with my children. Also, too, the Lamentations of the Father are still … Continue reading →

Real life isn’t like cop shows. Try to cope. The toxic history of harassment in the comics industry. “Inevitably, then, the marijuana movement has begun to give way to the marijuana lobby.” “But it would be a mis­take to as­sume … Continue reading →

What TV executives think about the new fall shows. Some football physics for your game-watching Sunday. “An experimental glider that could eventually reach the edge of space without the power of an engine had a successful first test flight over … Continue reading →

“Japan now has enough women over 100 years old to fill Yankee Stadium”. Freedom of speech, bitches. “In the early days of space flight, menstruation was part of the argument for why women shouldn’t become astronauts.” Giant Arctic mosquitoes: Yet … Continue reading →

Maybe it’s not that the voters are angry but the the politicians are angry, and the mood is catching. “The surge in [student loan] defaults was largely concentrated among relatively older, lower-income students who attended for-profit colleges.” Your Internet-connected baby … Continue reading →

How could Batman testify in court without jeopardizing his secret identity? “In short, Obama’s Iran policy is the anti–Iraq war.” Why don’t law enforcement agencies use ViCAP more? The kind of questions that the wife of a trans man gets … Continue reading →

“There are many things you can copyright, but a chicken sandwich is not one of them”. All you need to know, more or less, about investing. A brief history of the religious right. Hint: It was race, and not abortion, … Continue reading →

Scientists accidentally create an entirely new kind of glass. Of all the things they could have accidentally created, that doesn’t sound too bad. Can DraftKings be sued or not? Don’t get arrested on a reality TV show if you can … Continue reading →

Your 2015 Bulwer-Lytton Contest winners. Two words: Xena reboot. You’re welcome. The original Bavarian beer-making yeast has been found. “The disparity between how the law treats abortion patients and IVF patients reveals an ugly truth about abortion restrictions: that they … Continue reading →

Maybe trying to cure cancer shouldn’t be such a high priority. Better security for your Android phone is on its way. “It’s sort of like reaching the age when you realize your parents are just a couple of folks giving … Continue reading →

10 episodes of Angel that show what a great series it was. “68 years after the crash, that identity is in transition, as alien scholars, true believers, devout Christians, capitalist politicians, and exasperated agnostics all vie for a place in … Continue reading →

Baby-crawling races are apparently more complicated than you might think. Minivan evolution. Of course, as we know, all minivans were created less than 6,000 years ago. Remains of four-legged snake discovered, strongly suggesting snakes evolved on land. “On every major … Continue reading →

If you can’t read this you are, like me, old. How long will premium providers like HBO allow password sharing for their streaming services? The dark side of barbecue. Excited about the return of Bloom County? Here’s an interview with … Continue reading →

“Their latest results reveal that descendants of people who survived the Holocaust have different stress hormone profiles than their peers, perhaps predisposing them to anxiety disorders.” Interns are not volunteers and should not be treated as such. How to make … Continue reading →

“The most ridiculous no-hitter in history is 25 years old. It’s time to celebrate, marvel and recoil in horror at this game. It’s everything baseball is supposed to be. Just, you know, not all at once.” “In contrast to the … Continue reading →

“This column looks back at Jaws and another shark attack movie that disappeared from U.S. theaters after lawyers sank their teeth into it.” Wait, Ann Coulter is still a thing? Who knew? And sadly, she’s just as horrible as always. … Continue reading →

“The real test is whether Francis can convince conservative politicians of the reality, and urgency, of climate change. The reaction so far, at least in the United States, suggests he can’t. John Boehner, Paul Ryan, Jeb Bush, and Marco Rubio—all … Continue reading →

“On another occasion, Mr. [redacted] told Ms. [redacted] not to dream of [redacted]’s Chief Financial Officer wearing a singlet wrestling his prom date while naked midgets are cheering for him on the sidelines using Siamese furry cats as pom poms!” … Continue reading →