Here’s a fascinating article on a href=”http://dictionary.oed.com/newsletters/2002-06/tolkien.html”J. R. R. Tolkien’s work on the Oxford English Dictionary/a. I wish I’d seen this before I wrote my children’s biography of Tolkien; I could have added a couple of interesting paragraphs.
Category: Blog
I don’t think he likes it…
Christopher Hitchens writes in Slate on Michael Moore’s new film, Fahrenhei 9/11: To describe this film as dishonest and demagogic would almost be to promote those terms to the level of respectability. To describe this film as a piece of crap would be to run the risk of a discourse that would never again rise …
Private rocket ship breaks space barrier
As if you need me to point you to this story…they did it! On the other hand, sounds like they had a few problems. The Da Vinci Project may yet catch up to win the prize…
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The comet Wild 2, as seen by the Stardust spacecraft, with the names assigned by the Stardust team to the visible features. Cool!
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a href=’http://photos1.blogger.com/img/240/1109/640/60818main_fig2-0617040-browse.jpg’img border=’0′ style=’border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px’ src=’http://photos1.blogger.com/img/240/1109/320/60818main_fig2-0617040-browse.jpg’/abr /The comet Wild 2, as seen by the Stardust spacecraft, with the names assigned by the Stardust team to the visible features. Cool!
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The comet Wild 2, as seen by the Stardust spacecraft, with the names assigned by the Stardust team to the visible features. Cool!
Comet pictures astonish
New photos from the U.S. Stardust spacecraft have completely altered scientists’ view of comets. Research has a way of doing that. Just when we think we have everything all figured out, somebody goes and finds a way to actually test our theories, and upsets the applecart. Which, of course, is precisely what makes science so …
Good news from all over
Haven’t tasted The Speculist‘s yummy roundup of good news? Do so now!
Spooky action at a distance…
…is real, however much Einstein hated the idea. Quantum teleportation has previously been demonstrated with light; now two teams of scientists have demonstrated it using atoms. Beam me down, Scotty, maybe there is intelligent life down there!
"A Rich Boyhood in the Plain Void"
James Lileks writes about Fargo–and nails my feelings about life in a small prairie city perfectly. Read it!
Bacteria on a chip
There’s an old science joke that goes, “If it stinks, it’s chemistry, if it’s green and slimy, it’s biology, and if it doesn’t work, it’s physics.” Now, however, scientists are messing with these once-sacred boundaries, as they attempt to combine living cells and computer chips to create tiny, inexpensive pollution detectors. Many cells contain mechanisms …
Bacteria on a chip
There’s an old science joke that goes, “If it stinks, it’s chemistry, if it’s green and slimy, it’s biology, and if it doesn’t work, it’s physics.” Now, however, scientists are messing with these once-sacred boundaries, as they attempt to combine living cells and computer chips to create tiny, inexpensive pollution detectors. Many cells contain mechanisms …
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