Conserve Water, or the Fish Will Die

Conserve Water, or the Fish Will Die (Good 9-13-10)

Whenever you use Yan Lu's “Poor Little Fishbowl Sink,” water in the above fishbowl drains, resulting in a life-threatening situation for its resident goldfish. That's a clever way of reminding us that our wasteful practices can directly affect other creatures (and that, for much of the world, water issues are matters of life or death).

Has Lady Gaga killed off sex?

Has Lady Gaga killed off sex? (UK Daily Mail 9-16-10)

Leading American feminist author Camille Paglia accuses Lady Gaga of being an 'asexual copycat' who carefully scripts her every move.

Finding a bargain feels as good as sex

Finding a bargain feels as good as sex. (UK Telegraph 9-13-10)

Retail therapy is often said to make up for a poor love life – and now new research has shown why.

First Klingon opera lifts off

First Klingon opera lifts off (UK Telegraph 9-13-10)

Tired of the Ring Cycle? How about the Qeb bI'reS? A Dutch company has written, arranged and now premiered what it is calling the first ever Klingon opera, inspired by the fictional species from the Star Trek universe. Replacing Tristan and Isolde with Kahless the Unforgettable, the production features a Klingon story with Klingon lyrics and Klingon singers – or at least “Terrans” in forehead-ridged costumes.

Lady Gaga and the death of sex

Lady Gaga and the death of sex by Camille Paglia (UK Times Magazine 9-12-10)

What have we come to when middle-class girls like this see whoring as a career c

BEL MOONEY: What have we come to when middle-class girls like this see whoring as a career choice? (UK Daily Mail 9-9-10)

Frankly, I am dumbstruck at their stupidity, their vulgarity and their degradation of what it means to be a woman today, in a world where sexual equality was won through great courage and at great cost by the generations who came before them.

Pop culture and the lure of Platonism

Pop culture and the lure of Platonism by Edward Feser (9-6-10)

The differences between Platonism and Aristotelianism make a very real difference, though. Given the transcendence of the realm of the Forms, the Platonist is bound to regard the material world not only as second-rate but even as positively contemptible, and the body and its passions as a prison from which the soul needs to escape if it is to attain true wisdom and happiness. There is no such implication in Aristotelian realism.

The Many Iterations of William Shatner

The Many Iterations of William Shatner (NY Times 9-3-10)

Deep-fried beer invented in Texas

Deep-fried beer invented in Texas (UK Telegraph 8-31-10)

Last year's winner of the Texas state fair fried food competition was a recipe for deep-fried butter.

Plato’s Pop Culture Problem, and Ours

Plato’s Pop Culture Problem, and Ours by Alexander Nehamas (NY Times 8-29-10)

From the article:
This fall, the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on a case that may have the unusual result of establishing a philosophical link between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Plato.