http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/ Links of interest en Copyright 2008 Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:09:33 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification toledoblade.com -- 'Basic Instinct' author writes book about faith Once a writer of screenplays that explored the dark side of humanity and afflicted with throat cancer, Joe Eszterhas experienced a "Damascus Road" conversion and a miraculous healing. The Toledo Blade does a fine job telling the story. His latest work is Crossbearer: A Memoir of Faith. (Via Get Religion.)]]> http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/toledobladecom-basic-instinct.html http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/toledobladecom-basic-instinct.html Culture Faith Christian conversion Joe Eszterhas Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:09:33 -0600 The New Republic: Trading Places "In the past three decades, Chicago has undergone changes that are routinely described as gentrification, but are in fact more complicated and more profound than the process that term suggests. A better description would be 'demographic inversion.' Chicago is gradually coming to resemble a traditional European city--Vienna or Paris in the nineteenth century, or, for that matter, Paris today. The poor and the newcomers are living on the outskirts. The people who live near the center--some of them black or Hispanic but most of them white--are those who can afford to do so.... "[T]he deindustrialization of the central city, for all the tragic human dislocations it caused, has eliminated many of the things that made affluent people want to move away from it. Nothing much is manufactured downtown anymore (or anywhere near it), and that means that the noise and grime that prevailed for most of the twentieth century have gone away.... "This is the generation that grew up watching 'Seinfeld,' 'Friends,' and 'Sex and the City,' mostly from the comfort of suburban sofas. We have gone from a sitcom world defined by 'Leave It to Beaver' and 'Father Knows Best' to one that offers a whole range of urban experiences and enticements."]]> http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/the-new-republic-trading-place.html http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/the-new-republic-trading-place.html Cities gentrification Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:49:45 -0600 IMAO: In My World: Filling That Experience Gap A FrankJ fictional account: Joe Biden thinks he'll make a great running mate for that "Turok Osama."]]> http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/imao-in-my-world-filling-that.html http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/imao-in-my-world-filling-that.html Politics::Election2008 Barack Obama Joe Biden Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:18:30 -0600 Biden. Really? : Editorials : The Rocky Mountain News "Thud." (Via Club for Growth.)]]> http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/biden-really-editorials-the-ro.html http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/biden-really-editorials-the-ro.html Politics::Election2008 Barack Obama Joe Biden Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:43:33 -0600 Lileks on Location Star-Tribune humor columnist James Lileks is covering the Democratic National Convention in Denver.]]> http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/lileks-on-location.html http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/lileks-on-location.html Politics::Election2008 Democratic National Convention Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:50:18 -0600 WebGuy's Blog: Why won't Jim Inhofe stop spamming me? "Inhofe's campaign is spamming one email address that was only used to order pizza from Papa John's Pizza. When I ordered the pizza I do not remember seeing an optional checkbox to receive Inhofe spam next to the checkboxes for pepperoni, Italian sausage, onions and anchovies. There was no fine print that stated my email address would be signed up 'as a volunteer' for the Inhofe campaign. Nevertheless, I am getting spam after spam thanking me for 'being a volunteer' for the Inhofe campaign. Why? While I am a registered Republican, that status is soon to change. I cannot and will not be a member of a party that thinks spamming people is OK." Via Politics and Technology, which says, "Don't email-append voterfile lists. You're just sending email to people who don't want it."]]> http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/webguys-blog-why-wont-jim-inho.html http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/webguys-blog-why-wont-jim-inho.html Oklahoma::Politics Jim Inhofe spam Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:40:20 -0600 Washington Times - DEMING: Fluorescent bulb follies OU associate professor David Deming points out the flaws with the 2012 ban on incandescent light bulbs: "For a compact fluorescent bulb to achieve the claimed efficiency, it has to be burned continuously for long periods. If a CFL is left on for only 5-minute periods, it will burn out just as fast as an incandescent bulb. To avoid short cycling, the U.S. Energy Star program advises consumers to leave compact fluorescents on for at least 15 minutes.... [CFLs] contain toxic mercury and cannot be thrown into the trash, but have to be recycled. CFLs become dimmer as they age, and thus again will not perform as advertised. The quality of light from fluorescent bulbs is inferior to incandescent. Standard CFLs won't operate at low temperatures and are thus unsuitable for many outdoor applications." (All Oklahoma Republican congressmen and senators voted against the ban. Democratic Congressman Dan Boren voted in favor.)]]> http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/washington-times-deming-fluore.html http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/washington-times-deming-fluore.html Politics incandescent light bulbs Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:24:32 -0600 Obama vs. Baldilocks - LA Weekly Conservative blogger Juliette Ochieng's dad came from Kenya to America on the same plane as Barack Obama, Sr. Today, Ochieng is working to raise $10,000 for the Senator Obama Kogelo Secondary School, a school in Kogelo, Kenya, that Sen. Obama had promised to help.]]> http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/obama-vs-baldilocks-la-weekly.html http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/obama-vs-baldilocks-la-weekly.html Politics::Election2008 Barack Obama Kenya Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:19:01 -0600 Brit Gal' in the USA: Lake Vincent reveals... In Ellis County, draining a lake for cleaning and restocking reveals rusted 50-year old cars lined up along the dam. Good news: They make Tulsa's Belvedere look sparkly.]]> http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/brit-gal-in-the-usa-lake-vince.html http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/brit-gal-in-the-usa-lake-vince.html Oklahoma Lake Vincent Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:54:05 -0600 Drawing a Blank Downtown - TIME From 1983, but still relevant 25 years later: "Although the tide has turned and bankers and developers are again investing in downtown, the shiny new megastructures of the '70s and '80s are often still as destructive of its 'remarkable intricacy and liveliness' as the bulldozers of the '50s and '60s.... As Whyte's photos make clear, the worst offenders are convention centers, like the one in the Seattle Sheraton Hotel, and the new megastructure office, hotel and shopping centers, such as the Bonaventure Hotel and Atlantic Richfield Plaza in Los Angeles, the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco and Omni International in Atlanta. Architecturally, these structures often have an awesome and arrogant beauty. Socially, they set themselves deliberately and offensively apart from the city around them."]]> http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/drawing-a-blank-downtown-time.html http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/drawing-a-blank-downtown-time.html Cities architecture Sun, 24 Aug 2008 01:40:28 -0600 Hulu - Allyson Felix Sprints for Glory: NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams "Even in my running, my purpose is to bring glory to God." (Via Pyromaniacs.)]]> http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/hulu-allyson-felix-sprints-for.html http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/hulu-allyson-felix-sprints-for.html Faith Allyson Felix Olympics Sat, 23 Aug 2008 23:57:17 -0600 2blowhards.com: David Sucher, Day Two Part two of the interview with the author of City Comforts: "We've associated high-density cities with public transportation -- trains, a subway. Somehow we think: oh, we've got trains, so now we'll have an interesting high-density neighborhood. No, wrong. That's not the way it happens. Density is a byproduct. For example: people flock to places that are interesting. You don't have to encourage them." ]]> http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/2blowhardscom-david-sucher-day-1.html http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/2blowhardscom-david-sucher-day-1.html Cities City Comforts David Sucher Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:09:51 -0600 2blowhards.com: David Sucher, Day One An interview with the author of City Comforts: "What's missing from the general discussion about buildings and cities and towns?" "At the moment there's just not enough at it. If people were doing more of it, they'd get more skilled. People don't notice. I have discussions with people, and they let their mental images of something triumph over what's actually there.... I guess one thing that's missing is people actually experiencing stuff. They have images in their minds, but I don't think they go out and get a lot of ground truth."]]> http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/2blowhardscom-david-sucher-day.html http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/2blowhardscom-david-sucher-day.html Cities City Comforts David Sucher Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:03:31 -0600 Dr. Weevil: Rhinoceri? No, the plural of rhinoceros is rhinocerotes, and the plural of octopus is not octopi but octopodes. One apparatus, two apparatus, but if there's more than one, and you're being excruciatingly correct, you should pronounce it appara-toose, to reflect the lengthened u in the Latin 4th declension plural. More than you wanted to know about the formation of plurals for words of Latin and Greek origin.]]> http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/dr-weevil-rhinoceri.html http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/dr-weevil-rhinoceri.html Whimsy Greek Latin Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:26:18 -0600 Paul Greenberg :: Townhall.com :: Modals and Me "One of the great advantages of a regional dialect is that it's rooted in real life and real distinctions, like the one between 'I could' and 'I might could,' each with a different degree of probability. To sacrifice such shades of meaning for no better reason than a false respectability is to lose sight of what language ought to be about: conveying meaning precisely, even about imprecision." Greenberg quotes a linguist: "The use of double modals in Southern American English fills a gap in Standard English grammar, namely the loss of inflectional distinction in English between indicative and subjunctive modals. Dialect or regional forms are often more progressive in gap-filling than is a standard language." Greenberg cites the distinction between "you" and "y'all" as another example of the greater precision of the Suthuhn tongue.]]> http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/paul-greenberg-townhallcom-mod.html http://www.batesline.com/linkblog/2008/08/paul-greenberg-townhallcom-mod.html Culture language Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:37:06 -0600