February 2012
22 posts
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You've heard Gioachino Rossini's music, even if... →
Who knew that Gioachino Rossini’s music was such a touchstone for my childhood?
He’s the subject of a Google Doodle on this Leap Day (his 220th birthday), and the Christian Science Monitor’s website has this nice, brief overview of some of his more famous and well-known works.
Would they be as well-known today without the cartoons of the past sixty years, though? I wonder....
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I shall always be near you | Letters of Note →
This Civil War-era letter by Union soldier Sullivan Ballou I know best—like most people, I imagine—from the PBS documentary miniseries The Civil War, produced by Ken Burns.
It’s still a beautiful, beautiful letter. There’s no better way to describe it.
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How 50 Big Companies Got Their Names | BuzzFeed →
I seriously nerded out over this. It was pretty much impossible not to.
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The Hunter Becomes the Hunted | Esquire →
This Esquire article about “Omar Mohammed” by Daniel Voll is beyond fascinating. Beyond reporting the personal experiences of a man determined to make his country a better place—not to mention resolved to redeem himself in a number of ways, whether he actually needs to or not—it gives a good, if all too brief, look at how the United States treats its allies in Iraq, both well and...
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Guy Walks Into A Denny's, Cooks A Burger, Gets... →
From the police report:
He never announced he was one of the pros from Dover, but the briefcase toting gentleman wearing a maroon tie and long black trench coat was quite clear: he had been sent by corporate. He claimed he was the new general manager, that he had worked for the restaurant chain for 30-years and was starting his new job - right now.
It reads like a parody of a noir! More...
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The Umbrella Man | NY Times →
On the 48th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Errol Morris explores the story behind the one man seen standing under an open black umbrella at the site.
This is a couple months old, but it’s still fascinating. I’ve only heard of the Umbrella Man in passing, but I had no idea that he came forward and identified and explained himself some fifteen years...
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The Fifty Most Quoted Lines of Poetry | The Inky... →
On the Internet, at least, as compiled by Google.
So yeah.
Pro Basketball's First Asian-American Player Looks... →
Sports and history together! Love it.
Heart and Heartlessness | Sci-ence! A Skeptical... →
Because it’s Valentine’s Day, after all. Plus I’ve always wondered this myself.
[via It’s Okay to Be Smart]
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Syria's First Family | Slate Magazine →
A graphic about the Assads, the ruling family in Syria currently led by Bashar al-Assad, who used to be a ophthalmology student of all things.
This was especially interesting since I know absolutely nothing about modern Syrian history.
Dutch Volunteers Clear Snow Off Ice, Hoping For A... →
Hans Brinker can suck it.
“Yes, the world’s a ship on its passage out, and not a voyage complete; and...”
– Ishmael, Moby-Dick
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“Man is a sinner who needs an overwhelming love.”
– Francis Schaeffer in Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
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“Suddenly I turned around and she was standin’ there
With silver bracelets...”
– Bob Dylan, “Shelter From the Storm,”