"E" is for Expelliarmus...

This so fucking rocks:
The Gorey Guide to HBP spoilers. In alphabetical order. via musesfool

Also highly recommend dragonelle_fics' fantastic essay:
( HBP thoughts and ranting, particularly pertaining to Snape/Lupin (spoilers) )

And a Friday funny icon:

via kokopellinelli

Edit: I have to add this one too:

via the ever tasteful odogoddess


And I both love and curse meyerlemon for tempting me into reading her latest BSG spoiler, for I am now squeeing and madly counting the hours until I see this ep for myself, er- days until I can see it as it's not tonight's ep *damn*. Oh man, I'm going to be utterly useless today... If you want to see the video it's apparently available via bantha_fodder's LJ here.

Decisions, decisions

Ok, I'm torn over which of Mark Helprin's statements in this piece is the most ignorant and offensive. I dunno', it's kind of a tough one, your choices are:

a) But for Helprin, the divide remains. "The arts community is generally dominated by liberals because if you are concerned mainly with painting or sculpture, you don't have time to study how the world works. And if you have no understanding of economics, strategy, history and politics, then naturally you would be a liberal."

b) Author Mark Helprin, who considers himself a conservative, agrees. "Of course, you would have to be insane to hope your child grows up to be a playwright or poet. Given the odds, you would have to be quite cavalier about your children's future."

c) "I was intrigued by the question, and the answers of every one of our Democratic friends," Goeglein said. Not one parent, he said, gave an answer that would be more typical of Republicans. "Our party, in the way it is constituted, we think of medicine, we think of law, we think of business. We don't think, gee, I hope my son grows up to be a great playwright or painter or poet," he explained.

I think I'm going to have to go with "a" here, but please don't let me sway your vote. And speaking as a liberal former art and art history student I will happily pit my knowledge of history against your typical MBA any day of the week.
via Pandagon

Edit: Must add this bit from Digby

Seriously, he's right, though. Anyone who studies fine arts is by definition someone who knows nothing of economics, strategy, history and politics. Especially if they waste time reading that limp wristed, know-nothing William Shakespeare. None of the great poets, painters and sculptors ever depicted historical scenes or figures so you can surely skip that useless drivel. The classics, of course, have nothing to teach about any of this. It's a good thing that generals and leaders of all stripes have scrupulously avoided reading them over the years because the last thing we need is some mincing bookworm running things.
[...]
So, he's right. We know nothing of the world and that is why we are liberals. Unlike the Republicans who believe the Bible is literally true and that the scientific method is religion. We should definitely leave the running of the world to those folks.


Another gem from Pandagon regarding Intelligent Design is a must read:

quoting from Tony Snow's Townhall.com op ed: [Also, let students know that a sizeable number of scientists believe in a Designer, since science involves a quest to discover and decode universal design. (A sizeable number of scientists also don't believe in God.) Meanwhile, issue similar warnings against silly abuses of holy writ, since scripture has little or nothing to say about matters of "hard" science.]


Of course, the proportion of scientists in the scientific community who believe in ID is roughly comparable to the proportion of people in the 2004 election who voted for Nader. A reader sent me a blurb from last week's Economist:

"When the Discovery Institute, a promoter of intelligent design, came up with a list of 370 people with science degrees who backed their ideas, the National Centre for Science Education responded with almost 600 scientists called Steve or Stephanie who rejected them."

I would be tired of this Intelligent Design debate, but the simple fact that people promoting an ideology with "Intelligent" in the moniker can be so dumb is rather fascinating.

But yeah, the Right's got all the Big Brains who are totally in touch with how the Real World Works...sure...

Hope is rekindled

I never thought I'd hear myself saying this, but, I'm in total agreement with a self-proclaimed conservative blogger:
( Even when something really outrages me, usually that outrage gives way to a bit of calm, measured thinking. With the Cindy Sheehan story, that's not the case. )