@GoogleTalks

[m_mcgregor]

How is it that I never knew about Google's series of lectures/Q&A sessions with various authors or other public figures? I'm right in the middle of James Randi @GoogleTalks and have already gone through the Christopher Hitchens one. I'll be moving on to Barack Obama next, then Neil Gaiman, then Paul Krugman, then maybe Salman Rushdie followed by

Comments

Talks

[arkeus]

do you know Ted?

http://www.ted.com/

Re: Talks

[m_mcgregor]

I've seen various clips from there, and maybe it's just my ineptitude, but it seems difficult to find any videos that aren't just clips from a larger talk. I like the google talks stuff because it seems to be full length.

[anonymous]

So no new fic parts then? :(

[m_mcgregor]

Oh there's tons of new fic parts, but I posted them to my super secret blog that only my premium membership gets access to.

[nistelle]

They rock! :D

[phoenixgod2000]

I wanted to give you a heads up. From Comic Con I found out that Charisma Carpenter is going to be a Mord Sith on the Legend of the Seeker Show. I just thought that was interesting based on the fic idea you and I talked about a few years back.

Jon

[m_mcgregor]

Wow, I can't wait to not watch that!

[rudyhenkel]

Are you saying that you're not a fan of the Sword of Truth, mcgregor? I am shocked, shocked I say! ;)

God, I hate that that show is around to remind me how bad that series is.

[phoenixgod2000]

The show isn't that bad. its harmless fun in the vein of Hercules and Xena with the authors philosophy toned down in it.

Besides, its Charisma Carpenter as a Mord Sith. I don't care what you say. Thats hot.

[rudyhenkel]

The Randi one is pretty weak, I thought, compared to some of his other talks that I've seen, and rather rambling. The Hitchens one is good, but his material is fairly uniform across his different talks/speeches/etc., though there are some interesting nuggets in there.

Haven't watched the others you mention there.

[m_mcgregor]

The Randi one is definitely not him at his best, although he still gets a few good lines in there. I do however wish someone would explain to him the proper use of "duh". It gets into a very painful "old guy doesn't know how to use slang" moment when he says it. Especially since duh was slang back in 1992, and even then it was stupid. I wouldn't normally say anything since it was right after he'd had that bypass surgery and he admitted he wasn't at the top of his game, but it's not the first time I've heard him use it, and man is it ever distracting.

Hitchens I agree is pretty much the same all the time. It's also interesting to me that he has a much harder time backing up his arguments in regards to his feelings on the Iraq war than he does to religion. He can come up with all kinds of rational responses to religious questions, but when it's pointed out to him that he is arguing for the continued existence of Gitmo and thus the weakening of several important human rights, he was much less eloquent.

[nistelle]

Here's a wacky idea.

Why not listen to a damn WOMAN at some point in there, you misogynist?

[rudyhenkel]

I'm not sure if you're joking or not, but listening to a woman just for the sake of having listened to a woman is juvenile. Why don't you suggest an interesting female speaker in particular?

[rudyhenkel]

And if you are just joking, please disregard this message. :)

[nistelle]

ummmmmm...

sojourner truth?