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I’ve been thinking for a while that nerd culture - SF fandom, gaming fandom, comics fandom, hacker culture - are taking over the world. Traditional nerd passtimes (big fantasy novels, comics) are now major smash movie hits. Computer games are a major business. Important politicians (Al Gore, Newt Gingrich) are SF enthusiasts ( Read more... )

The answers to that poll about American reading habits:

According to a 1999 Gallup poll:

• 13% of Americans read no books in the previous year.
• 85% read all or part of at least one book.
• 38% read more than ten books.
• 7% read more than fifty books.

As of right now, the most-chosen answers for questions 1 (no books) is the right answer. Most of you ( Read more... )

This came up in a comment thread in cadhla’s journal, and I’ve been wondering what people think about the reading habits of Americans in general. So that’s what I’m asking you to guess. No fair googling for the answers - just answer based on your own experience or gut feelings or educated best guess ( Read more... )

I think my weather menu app just may be on crack:


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David Bernstein, of the Volokh Conspiracy, quotes from the April 26th issue of People Magazine (which isn’t online):
She’s got the deejay blasting Beyonce and a computerized light show. She has nearly 100 friends crammed into Manhattan’s ritzy Bryant Park Grill. She’s got the gift table groaning with Tiffany bags and guests greeting her dad at the ( Read more... )

How long have piercings and tattoos been really popular? In the mainstream of the US middle class, I mean. Has it been long enough that people with piercings and tattoos can be horrified when their kids want to get jewelry implanted in their eyeballs? (Thanks, zoe_trope, I’ll be having nightmares now.)

You’ve probably seen this argument: If you’re not willing to personally kill and butcher an animal, you shouldn’t eat meat.

( Let’s apply that logic to other areas of life, using the magic of reductio ad absurdum! )

The Black Table reviews proposals for the World Trade Center memorial:

It's not that these potential memorials lack the appropriate gravitas or are altogether terrible, it's just that they all feel the same. From the street level, in the shadow of a massive new World Trade Center, passersby will likely see a park. Or a reflecting pool. Or some ( Read more... )

OK, here’s something to be annoyed about. (We could all use more of that, right?) Thanks to kathrynt, I looked up this MSNBC story about a recent poll on American attitudes towards gays and the freedom to marry, and then looked up the poll report itself. (This is always a good idea, if you can manage it. Newspapers often leave out important details; ( Read more... )