This is a web game that has you clicking through Google Street View images and guessing where you are. I got my first three two guesses in the right country, at least, and the second one I got in the right republic of Russia (although I may have cheated by using the Googles to figure out where the mosque I was looking at was).

GeoGuessr - Let's ( Read more... )

From John Scalzi, an interesting gamer analogy for straight white male privilege. Thanks to a couple friends on Facebook for calling my attention to his post.

I finally got around to uploading my Pride and Prejudice photos to Flickr.

I posted some photos from closing night of The Big Broadcast of 1954 to Flickr. Here are the Byfar Hour photos, and here are the Sleepy Hollow photos.

Not that I need another social-networking site, but I’ve just joined Tumblr. Same username as here. If you’re on there and I should follow you, no promises, but let me know.

(Ceterum autem censeo G+ esse delendam.)

That’s no moon! That’s... well, actually, that’s a bunch of moons.

Sorry for the somewhat behind-the-curve post about this; it didn’t occur to me at the time the story broke to post a correction, and by the time it did I presumed it was too late to be worthwhile, but a message from kw_leigh changed my mind. (Thanks!)

( Cut for the benefit of those of you who are already familiar with the story. )

Amina A. has posted a couple very interesting speculations about what a democratic Syria would look like.

After Assad Goes: 1. Inside Syria tries to answer the question “What do the protesters want?” and comes up with a fairly optimistic answer.

After Assad 2: Beyond our Borders (which I’ve only read about half of and very quickly skimmed the ( Read more... )

They have lost the population. So, now, they can take a page from their mentors in the old People’s Republics of East Europe and start negotiating their end. Would it not be more comforting for those in this regime to be known as the Jaruzelskis of Syria than as the Ceaucescus? Their choice …
I have to say, I was a bit surprised Hosni Mubarak wasn’t ( Read more... )

I’ve been meaning to post links to these blogs for a while:

• A Gay Girl in Damascus
  What it says on the tin. Amina lived in the US for several years, and then moved back to Syria a while ago. I found her blog a few days ago thanks to a link from a coworker - around the same time the secret police started looking for her and she went underground. ( Read more... )