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6 Quotes from an Anime I Like Called Hyouka

2012-09-18T17:42:00.001+07:00

I rarely watch TV as I like books much better. Even so, if a show is in Japanese or Vietnamese, I'll sometimes try it out--as it allows me to be productive (in learning a language) while also having fun (and providing a break from more intense mental effort). With that said as background, one of the shows I recently finished watching is Hyouka (or, in English, Ice Cream). The show has

You'll Never Guess Who Ayn Rand Supposedly Writes Like

2012-09-01T17:17:00.000+07:00

So, there's a website called I Write Like. Recently, on Reddit, there have been a few posts showing how the algorithm being used is, to put it nicely, bunk. But I don't take things on faith. I test 'em out. And so I went to the site and copied in this Ayn Rand quote: Through centuries of scourges and disasters, brought about by your code of morality, you have cried that your code had been

Oh No She Didn't! What Happens When Grandma Tries to Restore Art

2012-08-23T16:07:00.001+07:00

I recently shared three important takeaways of a book by Lee Sandstead on the art world's dirties secret, but one thing I didn't share about it was some of the fascinating material it includes on the difficult job of art restoration. This, as Joe Biden might say, can be a big freaking deal--because when somebody who is not an expert tries to restore art bad things can easily happen. Say, for

4 Amazing Posts You May Have Missed and 1 (Almost) Funny Remark about Jonah Lehrer

2012-08-17T10:58:00.002+07:00

So, I don't know if you know this already, but someone's got to say it. You might be missing out. In fact, you probably are missing out. No, not (as you might be thinking) on Facebook posts. Like everyone else you're likely to have that one covered and then some. But did you know this isn't the primary place I write? It's not. I create memes for you on what it means to be a successful kid

An Open Letter to Auntie about Uncle Sam

2012-08-13T10:47:00.006+07:00

We need to talk, Auntie. It’s about you and Uncle Sam. I know this may not be any of my business, and you may be angry with me for sending you this letter, but because I value you so much, I feel as though I must send it. I also know that you’re busy, busier than ever, so I’ll get straight to the point. I think Uncle Sam’s abusing you. I think you are battered. And I think it’s

A Tribute to a Tribute

2012-08-06T20:56:00.001+07:00

Ari Armstrong just posted at The Objective Standard's blog a short and fitting tribute to Kirani James, Oscar Pistorius, and Össur Kristinsson. It's a good post and you may enjoy it. One of the things I enjoyed about is the unabashedly positive view of human achievement it expresses. Another is the justice Ari gives to the two runners in earning their respective achievements by their own

This Book (by Greg Gutfeld) is Almost Unspeakably Profane

2012-08-04T19:54:00.000+07:00

As host of Red Eye, Greg Gutfeld shares "some honest crap about the world" without pulling any punches and for free. But in The Bible ofUnspeakable Truths, he wants you to pay for the pleasure. "[I]t’s almost the same thing," says Gutfeld, "give or take the suggested retail price." The book covers everything from "political crap" and "obligatory sex junk" to "things that are stupid" and "

Did a politician just vault that--or was it McKayla Maroney?

2012-08-02T20:51:00.000+07:00

The world is unfortunately as full today of spectacular achievements as it is of politicians and bureaucrats who’d like to take the credit for them. But this is patently absurd. Are bureaucrats responsible for sites like Twitter and Facebook—or companies like Twilio and 37Signals? No, they didn’t code that. Are bureaucrats responsible for the new Tesla, or Gibson guitar, or the

The One Question You Should Ask Yourself Every Day

2012-07-31T11:17:00.002+07:00

Asking questions is seriously under-rated (and more so the more you know). This is true whether you’re asking questions of others or asking them of yourself. And it’s definitely true of a question described in Alan Lakein’s How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life. That question is simple enough. Just try it and see. Ask yourself, “What is the best use of my time right now?” and

Why Steve Jobs Quit Going to Church

2012-07-26T20:01:00.003+07:00

In his biography of Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson explains that as a young boy Jobs went to Lutheran church most Sundays but that this came to end when he was thirteen. Here's why: In July 1968 Life magazine published a shocking cover showing a pair of starving children in Biafra. Jobs took it to Sunday school and confronted the church's pastor. "If I raise my finger, will God know which one

Revealing Infographic on the TSA

2012-07-19T13:04:00.002+07:00

There are more and better reasons to abolish the TSA--reasons having to do with the gross injustice of its actions--but this is a good compilation of facts showing the uselessness of much of what its agents do and the huge amount of money the TSA takes (from taxpayers) to do it: Image Source: Hardwood Flooring Baltimore

The Entire Biography of Steve Jobs in 3 Short Quotes

2012-07-16T08:45:00.000+07:00

Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs is 656 pages long, but these three quotes (not included in it) sum up a huge portion of what Isaacson wrote: 1. "He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!" This quote comes from Brian's mother in The Life of Brian and, while Jobs's god-like status in business is definitely earned, so too was his status (for a time) as a trouble-making kid.

A Successful Kid

2012-07-11T07:49:00.000+07:00

Many parents say they want a successful kid, but what exactly does a successful kid mean? On one level, I think it means something different for each kid, according to what they value--what they want to have and do. On another level, it can and I imagine almost always means something similar. For example, in spite of different values, kids want to have their feelings, all of their feelings,

A Book for Our Epically-Challenged Times

2012-07-05T09:22:00.003+07:00

If you agree with me about the value of epics, and have decided to experience an inspiring epic for yourself, one book to check out is Atlas Shrugged. Published in 1957, and written by Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged is a novel of epic scope. Its style, like epics of the past, is similarly elevated in terms of the language it uses and the symbols it employs. Should you open the book up, however, you

The Value of Epics for the Epically-Challenged

2012-07-03T14:27:00.000+07:00

“Epic” is one of the most misused words today. It is also one of the most overused. People use it to describe a clever retort. They use it to describe a nap. They use it to describe a trick. And they use it to describe a pizza. In fact, if someone evaluates anything positively now, it seems that he will invariably declare it “epic.” But this is nonsense, and hopefully a passing linguistic

50 Shades of Graphite

2012-06-12T17:06:00.001+07:00

So, you've read how I started drawing again, how that drawing thing is going, and even my most recent post on starting to like the smell of graphite in the morning. But you've been asking your good-looking self a question: "What has Daniel been drawing lately?" Daniel, that's me for those who don't know, has actually not been drawing a lot lately. Or rather, I've been drawing some profiles,

3 Quotes on Raising a Brighter Child Translated for Stupid Parents

2012-06-08T10:42:00.000+07:00

How to Raise a Brighter Child is one of my favorite books on parenting, mostly because it shares so many useful tips toward the goal of raising smarter kids. When initially writing this post, for another blog, I was going to give a sampling of those tips via a selection of relevant quotes. However, about halfway through, I decided to shelve that idea and have a little fun instead. Here,

7 Creativity Blocks and How to Break Them Down

2012-06-07T10:47:00.000+07:00

The staff at Copyblogger routinely come up with creative new ways to share a single, consistent message. How do they do it? In a new infographic, they explain 7 creativity blocks and how to break them down. No doubt, and as usual, they're sharing what they've found has worked for themselves. Check it out below: Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger. Do

A Truckful of Thai Bitches

2012-06-04T18:27:00.001+07:00

Note: This is an old rewrite I did (for fun) of an item I saw in the news. Enjoy! Thai police officers near the border of Laos are not always prepared for smugglers, but this past Thursday they were. In an operation on that evening they nabbed four trucks. The drivers tried to flee. They threw things from the truck as they fled. And yet, try as they did, they could not, did not, get away.

A Poem About Stumbleupon

2012-06-03T13:54:00.001+07:00

I recently started a new blog on reading (you can click here to learn all about it) and have been slowly building up content on it. While doing so, I of course have been following traffic to it--wondering, in a way, whether Facebook or Google or Twitter like me more. The answer to that question came through yesterday: Stumbleupon likes me the most of all! More specifically, if

Can you name this famous scientist?

2012-06-02T16:23:00.001+07:00

There’s a passage in When I Say No, I Feel Guilty, by Manuel J. Smith, where my favorite scientist is mentioned although not named. See if you can guess who it is: Recently, after one class, I ran into a former student, a physicist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratories, set up and administered by the California Institute of Technology, and he told me an amusing story. The night before this

I'm Starting to Like the Smell of Graphite in the Morning

2012-05-29T12:02:00.003+07:00

Since I've been sharing most of my what I've produced since I started drawing again, I'm going to continue doing so now. I say this with some reluctance because, frankly, I don't think these pictures came out as good as some of the others--at least not after having them scanned and seeing how little of the shading came out. Anyway, it's not the fault of my tools entirely. I still have a lot to

How that Drawing Things is Going

2012-05-24T15:16:00.000+07:00

This post is a continuation of “How I Started Drawing Again,” and so to understand it, you should probably read that first. To sum up, I used to draw, then I didn’t for a very long time, and then I started to do so again—becoming ever more desirous of creating something, anything, and actually doing that (with improving skill). By the time I went and got a drawing pad, this was a couple

David Grann Does it Again

2012-05-22T20:23:00.001+07:00

"What's so great about David Grann?" That's a question that's rarely asked. And the reason it's rarely asked is simple. If you know the name, you have almost definitely read something by him, and if you've done that, well, you understand. To my mind, Grann is absolutely brilliant. He's brilliant enough to have me checking The New Yorker each week to see if there's anything new by him. He's

How I Started Drawing Again

2012-05-20T14:42:00.000+07:00

So, the other day I was talking about drawing with my friend Craig and I wondered if I still had any talent for doing so. When I was a kid, I actually drew a lot. My favorite things to draw were ships. I’d draw them tiny but make absolutely sure to get all the details the same. I also remember loving to draw (of all things) an old barn. I drew that barn so many times as a child that I can