There's a very old joke about a man driving a huge Cadillac through the sticks in the southern States. He stops at an ancient service station for 'gas' (to buy some, not because he has it). The young hick serving him has never seen such a vehicle – sorry – 'vee-hickle', and is awestruck. He... Continue Reading →
This was a superb event. A diverse audience of somewhere between 80 and 90 attended a truly excellent event on 'algorithms of oppression' yesterday in Manchester. The event, hosted by Open Data Manchester with the support of The Federation and Manchester School of Art, was centred on a lecture and q and a with Dr Safiya... Continue Reading →
Musing #1 on Molotch, H. 1970. Oil in Santa Barbara and Power in America. Sociological Inquiry, 40, 131-144. In January 1969 the first big Oil Slick That Mattered washed up on the beaches of rich people in California. Sure, there had been the Torrey Canyon in 1967, where someone took an ill-advised shortcut and hit... Continue Reading →
We are losing. All we need to do to keep losing is to keep on doing what we are doing. Simples. Reflecting on the mirror-image of master and slave We can see it in our opponents. And if we denounce them for their condescension and silence, well, our tribe rewards us for seeing it and... Continue Reading →
Big Picture Thinking (BPT) is endlessly seductive, isn't it? What's the old saying? "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." (see here for more on this). Well, some mediocre minds can discuss ideas, especially the big sweepy-generalisation-y stuff. Then again, some super-bright folks have a go too. BPT comes in... Continue Reading →
I like to believe I've read a lot these three and a half years (even by my own somewhat Rabelaisian standards). Specifically, on the Australian environment movement/climate change/climate policy etc. I've read a few excellent books, a few stinkers and lots in between (thankfully mostly at the 'excellent' end, and towering piles of journal articles... Continue Reading →
aka some cishet white guy's uninvited commentary on two feminist literary icons. But it's his website and he can say what he likes. Nobody is forcing you to read it, 'kay? Rebecca Solnit will be known to the casual reader as the woman who wrote the (fantastic) 'Men Explain Things To Me’. Last night she... Continue Reading →
The problem with studying the rich (well, one of many) is that access is hard. So you end up relying on leaks and whisteblowers. Both can be deeply problematic. But every so often the curtain DOES get pulled back. With Australia and climate change two great examples are a) the leaking of the minutes of... Continue Reading →
Dear Jay, we are both busy (you with trying to implement climate and energy policy while the Federal Government supplies only ridicule and chaos, me with finishing a thesis) so I will keep this as brief as I can. When I read what was reported in today's Australian (1) 'Jay says nay on right-wing remark'... Continue Reading →
from facebook - here, originally. "This bit of humor was written in April 1988 and appeared in the January 1989 issue of The Physics Teacher. William DeBuvitz was a physics professor at Middlesex County College in Edison, New Jersey (USA). He retired in June of 2000." 'The heaviest element known to science was recently discovered by... Continue Reading →
marchudson.net 