![Gabridelca [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons](http://crypticphilosopher.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Meteore.jpg "Gabridelca [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons")
This isn’t really the Vale of Arryn, but it plays it on TV.
A group of (mostly) Stanford geologists, however, have been wondering about that, and their ideas are collecting in the form of a geological history of Westeros at their blog, Generation Anthropocene.
I have been out-geeked, and I yield.
Photo credit: Gabridelca [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.
Today’s recommended reading: The Enigma of Amigara Fault by Junji Ito. I don’t even know how to describe it. It certainly channels H.P. Lovecraft, but the story operates on a much more personal level.
Click the first page to go to the entire story, which is posted at OpenAwesome.com. Remember that manga are printed right-to-left, so read accordingly:
It’s also posted at the delightfully-named brasscockroach.com.
Spring is here in central Texas, which means that it’s time for an age-old tradition: incredibly awkward poses while surrounded by bluebonnets.
To honor this tradition, someone has created a blog on (where else?) Tumblr entitled Pooping on Bluebonnets. The author of the blog has made some amusing modifications to the photos, which I admit I didn’t notice right away.
My only beef is that it’s not clear where these photos come from. If they are taken from other people’s social media posts, there might be some consent and privacy issues. Hence my use of pixelation.
As a kid, I aspired to build my own LEGO Star Destroyer. The goal was to build an Executor-class ship. It’s been done, but I wanted to build one at minifigure scale—meaning that it would include all of the ship’s interior details (bridge, launch and landing bays, crew quarters, commissary, canteen, latrine, etc.) Still, I would’ve settled for an Imperial-class ship. (Such a thing has been attempted, although it was a Corellian Corvette instead of a Start Destroyer.)
Between all the Town and Space LEGOLAND sets that I had as a kid, I probably still never came close to having enough pieces for such an ambitious project—and certainly not enough gray pieces. The thing probably would’ve been about fifteen feet long, at least. Besides that, I never really had the attention span for the project.
It was therefore with a mixture of admiration and mild jealousy-fueled disdain that I learned of Bonsol Colony, an expansive LEGO project by Flickr user wobnam (h/t Kevin).
Flickr won’t allow embedding because of frames, so here’s a screen shot instead. Go check out the whole set. Continue reading
If Jesus Never Called Himself God, How Did He Become One? NPR’s Fresh Air, April 7, 2014
You do find Jesus calling himself God in the Gospel of John, or the last Gospel. Jesus says things like, “Before Abraham was, I am.” And, “I and the Father are one,” and, “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.” These are all statements you find only in the Gospel of John, and that’s striking because we have earlier gospels and we have the writings of Paul, and in none of them is there any indication that Jesus said such things. …
I think it’s completely implausible that Matthew, Mark and Luke would not mention that Jesus called himself God if that’s what he was declaring about himself. That would be a rather important point to make. This is not an unusual view amongst scholars; it’s simply the view that the Gospel of John is providing a theological understanding of Jesus that is not what was historically accurate.
Good riddance, Barbara Walters, Alex Pareene, Salon, May 13, 2013
Barbara Walters has announced her retirement from journalism, a profession she claims to have been practicing for more than 50 years. Walters, the former co-host of the “Today” show, ABC World News, “20/20,” and current co-host of “The View,” is a national icon and a pioneer, and probably as responsible as any other living person for the ridiculous and sorry state of American television journalism. She has announced her retirement a year in advance, so that a series of aggrandizing specials can be produced celebrating her long and storied career. So let’s get things started off right, by reminding everyone how her entire public life has been an extended exercise in sycophancy and unalloyed power worship.
![License to Boot [CC BY 2.0], via Flickr](http://crypticphilosopher.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/8603847244_429bc2a35f_z.jpg "License to Boot [CC BY 2.0], via Flickr")
Seriously, no one ever even mentions music at Coachella. It’s all about fashion, trends that everyone will look back on in embarrassment, and unforgivable neologisms like “Coachella diet” and “smuicing.” (I promise I will never use that word again, ever.)
Even the fashion aspects, to judge from the pictures, make it look like Coachella consists entirely of skinny hipster chicks without sweat glands standing in the middle of remarkably empty and green fields. Oh yeah, and white people in headdresses, because fuck history.
It wouldn’t surprise me at this point to learn that the whole thing is just staged by New York fashion designers. I mean, I don’t think I know anyone who’s been to Coachella, so how do I know it actually exists???
I’m not even sure why I wrote this post. Now get off my lawn. Continue reading
I’m all for creativity in food, but this is just horrifying (h/t Jason):
I’d like to hear what Ron Swanson has to say regarding bacon made from jicama or eggplant:
– As Smooth as a Spring Evening in Highgarden: Okay, I have no idea what could legitimately be called “smooth” in Westeros. Anyway, here’s the Game of Thrones theme played as smooth jazz:
– It’s for a good cause: I realize that charitable causes can have a difficult time raising awareness, but this is (hopefully) the first time anyone has thought of Tasering a woman in a bikini, and charging people to watch.
![Photo credit: Nemo [CC0 1.0], via Pixabay](http://crypticphilosopher.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/model-30442_640.png "Photo credit: Nemo [CC0 1.0], via Pixabay")
On Ignoring Sound Methodologies: Empiricism, Scientism, And Other Ways Of Knowing, Academic Atheism, April 5, 2014
Lately, there’s been a move away from either taking empirical methodology at face value, so to speak, or attempts to demonstrate its weaknesses. Instead, there’s been a move toward avoiding it and/or claiming that some other methodology is better. People who did this, however, haven’t offered any good justification for claiming their methodology is better. The issue is that such thinking is beginning to become more widespread.
That leads to any even greater problem. Effectively, what ends up happening is that such people forgo their respect for truth. They’re basically stating that their prized opinion matters more than the truth—that they want to believe despite the evidence at hand. Prior to showing why empirical methodology can’t be avoided, it is useful to deal with some accusations—accusations that have become quite persistent and that rest in a misunderstanding.
The Sham of Conservative Originalism, Ed Brayton, Dispatches from the Culture Wars, April 7, 2014
Conservative originalism has always been a sham, a pretense of objectivity where there is none. Justice Scalia, in particular, loves to lecture everyone on how his textualism and originalism are objective, as opposed to all those liberal justices who only care about the outcome of the case. That’s simply a lie. Scalia himself is absolutely an outcome-based judge; compare his opinion on the scope of the Interstate Commerce Clause in Raich to his opinion in the health care reform case from two years ago, that is all the proof you will need. There are lots and lots of ways to manipulate originalism to get the result you want, including picking and choosing which views of the founding fathers are the ones that matter.
Republican SBOE Member Asks if Non-Mexican Americans Will Be Included in Mexican-American Studies, Katherine Haenschen, Burnt Orange Report, April 9, 2014
Republican SBOE Member Ken Mercer asked during a hearing on Mexican-American Studies if Cuban-Americans Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz would be included in the curriculum.
The debate centered on the potential creation of a Mexican American studies course that could be offered as an elective to the entire state. The SBOE would need to develop and approve the new course’s curriculum.
Hispanic students are the largest ethnic group in Texas public school systems. The overwhelming majority are of Mexican descent. It should be common sense that Texas public school students should be able to learn about leaders who share their heritage. After all, it seems to be working out just fine for the white kids.
The fact that Ken Mercer cannot distinguish between Cuban Americans and Mexican Americans suggests that this coursework is sorely needed.
8 Things America Gets Wrong About Sex, Amanda Duberman, Huffington Post, April 7, 2014
It’s difficult to distill America’s sexphobia into a few list-friendly factors. Rather, a puritanical seed planted around the 1700s, nourished by national identity, has grown into a sinister vine tightly wound around many of our public institutions. While antiquated laws about women and sex are lampooned for comedy and shows like “Masters Of Sex” and “Girls” are all over premium cable, the stigma around sex and sexuality persists where it hurts the most: in the classroom, doctor’s office, at political conventions and sometimes, in the voting booth.
Photo credit: Nemo [CC0 1.0], via Pixabay.
In a few months, I’ll be turning 40. I think this is supposed to be a big deal, but so far it’s eliciting a big old “meh” from me.
I’m pretty sure there is no way that my generation will be as insufferable about hitting middle age as the Boomers were, but everything is relative, and we won’t be the ones to make the final determination. I guess time will tell.
Anyway, I came across a few good screeds about the malaise of the Gen Xer. Read on, and remember how we used to have to read about what a bunch of slackers we all were in periodicals printed on paper.
