Context: This essay was written for, and performed in, the November 19, 2011 edition of The Paper Machete, a weekly showcase for Chicago journalists, comedians, and other writers, hosted by Christopher Piatt. I’m just getting around to posting it now because, well, my own universe is fairly chaotic and other deadlines prevailed. You are encouraged […]
Entries Tagged as 'Science'
The Unbearable Lightness of the Kilogram, Universes Next Door, and the Occupy Movement
November 29th, 2011 · 1 Comment · Books, Chicago, Culture, Essays, Fringe, Journalism, News, Performance, Politics, Science, The Economy, Stupid, TV, Writing
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Not Zero: The Fukushima Litotes
April 1st, 2011 · 2 Comments · Blogs, Chicago, Climate Change, Culture, Energy, Environment, Essays, Fringe, Journalism, Language, Media, News, Nuclear Power, Performance, Politics, Science, Writing
A little context: The following piece was written to be performed in the March 26, 2011 edition of The Paper Machete, a weekly showcase for Chicago journalists, comedians, and other writers, hosted by Christopher Piatt. The Paper Machete has posted the audio of the performance as a podcast. You can listen to it here: The […]
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Another Talking Point Deflated
August 5th, 2008 · 3 Comments · Energy, News, Politics, Science, Tech
TIME says Obama is right: keeping tires properly inflated can save more oil than offshore drilling would produce. And it would do it immediately, rather than taking till 2030 to have any substantial effect. How out of touch is Barack Obama? He’s so out of touch that he suggested that if all Americans inflated their […]
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Roundup: Pansies vs. Chair Sniffers Edition
May 1st, 2008 · 1 Comment · Comedy, Culture, Doctor Who, Factory Farming, Food, Gender, LGBT, Nature, News, Organic Food, Politics, Racism, Religion, Roundup, Science, TV, Video
A little sampler platter for you, my pretties … First up, a brilliant post by Hunter on Daily Kos: Things I have learned during this campaign season: In a race that includes a former First Lady of the United States and a multimillionaire Republican senator rumored to share up to eight residences with his wife, […]
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Comical Cartoon Comics
April 22nd, 2008 · 1 Comment · Books, Comics, Culture, Nature, Politics
Because I haven’t brought you your funnies in a while … • Tom the Dancing Bug’s Super-Fun-Pak Comix. … T’Aint no evolution! • Matt Bors: Let’s ask a multi-millionaire who sounds like a redneck! … Ya follow? • Opus: What to take if your nipples shoot sparks. • Tom Toles: Constructing the angry tea-drinking elitist. […]
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R.O.U.S.
December 18th, 2007 · 2 Comments · Books, Comedy, Fantasy, Film, Nature, News, Science
More breaking news from the world of fantasy science: A giant rodent five times the size of a common rat has been discovered in the mountainous jungles of New Guinea. The 1.4kg Mallomys giant rat is one of two species of mammal thought to be new to science documented on an expedition to an area […]
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Welcome Back, Otter
December 12th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Chicago, Illinois, Nature, News, Science
Forget about the possums, the raccoons, even the coyotes turning up in our urban environment. There are now officially otters in the Chicago River. Thousands of commuters were walking past Union Station on the day that Chris Anchor happened to see a dream made flesh. Furry otter flesh, to be exact. I know, I know. […]
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Roundup: Flight of the Humpback Edition
November 19th, 2007 · Comments Off on Roundup: Flight of the Humpback Edition · Apple, Blogs, Books, Climate Change, Comics, Culture, Feminism, Fiction, Film, History, HIV/AIDS, Human Rights, Journalism, LGBT, Lit, Macintosh, Media, Music, Nature, New Wave, Politics, Religion, Software, Tech, The Economy, Stupid, Torture
Markos from Daily Kos has a new gig writing opinion pieces for Newsweek, and he’s been in rare form with his first couple of efforts. From this week’s column: “In his first Inaugural Address, Ronald Reagan remarked that ‘government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.’ While the quip has provided […]
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Roundup: Monkey in the Bathroom Edition
November 6th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Activism, Apple, Blogs, Comics, Culture, Essays, Food, Heroes, History, Human Rights, Journalism, Labor, LGBT, Macintosh, Music, Nature, New Wave, News, Politics, Religion, Roundup, Science Fiction, Spirituality, Tech, Terrorism, Torture, TV, Vegetarian & Vegan
I can’t scrape together enough time at the moment to do OcPot’s usual painstakingly well-rounded roundup — I’m seeing The Waterboys at the Park West tonight, woo-hoo! — but I wanted to get some of these links up before they fossilized. So here’s a charmingly slapdash, quick-and-dirty roundup. In ripped fishnet and high heels. The […]
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Roundup: Where All the Corn Cobs Are Edition
October 29th, 2007 · Comments Off on Roundup: Where All the Corn Cobs Are Edition · Advertising, Books, Climate Change, Comics, Culture, Death Penalty, Fantasy, Fiction, Film, Food, Health, Healthcare Crisis, HIV/AIDS, Human Rights, Internet, Labor, Law, LGBT, Music, Nature, New Wave, News, Organic Food, Pets, Politics, Roundup, Science, Tech
In order to keep these roundups fresh as a spring daisy, I usually discard any links I’ve been keeping around that are more than a week old. But since this is OcPot’s first roundup in more than six weeks, I’m extending the freshness window slightly to include a few things that were just too good […]
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Roundup: Swiftly Tilting Planet Edition
September 17th, 2007 · Comments Off on Roundup: Swiftly Tilting Planet Edition · Activism, Books, Chicago, Climate Change, Comics, Culture, Fantasy, Film, Foreign Policy, Hate Crimes, Health, History, HIV/AIDS, Infrastructure, Journalism, LGBT, Lit, Media, Nature, News, Peace, Politics, Public Transportation, Roundup, Science, Science Fiction, Tech
Eric Alterman has an outstanding column in The Nation on how the media’s mean girls (of all genders) develop the narratives they use to bring down the presidential candidates they take a dislike to. With examples of what they did to Gore in 2000, and what they’re doing to Obama and Edwards right now. Two […]
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The Bright Side of Death
September 15th, 2007 · Comments Off on The Bright Side of Death · Activism, Comedy, Culture, Health, Healthcare Crisis, History, Human Rights, Politics, The Economy, Stupid, Video
This week’s smash-hit viral video is a cheery little mash-up in which a Monty Python classic gets its peanut butter in the chocolate of the modern-day healthcare crisis. … and here’s the handy action link. If William Jennings Bryan were alive today, he might say something about not crucifying mankind upon a Cross of […]
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Roundup: Pink Elephant Edition
September 10th, 2007 · 3 Comments · Activism, Books, Climate Change, Comics, Culture, Energy, Film, Foreign Policy, Health, History, HIV/AIDS, Human Rights, Internet, Journalism, Language, LGBT, Media, Music, Nature, News, Peace, Performance, Politics, Racism, Roundup, Science, Tech, Theater
General Petraeus says that “victory” in Iraq will require 9-10 more years. I’m trying to imagine how ten more years of bloody occupation can possibly work out to a victory. More on that subject here. A bill has been introduced in Venezuela to restrict baby names to a list of 100 approved choices. “The bill’s […]
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