jeffhottinger.com/blog

Category: Society

  • Thank God for Science!

    Whew, a big flutter of chatter in the news last week about some recent scientific findings: the gases let off by shower curtains are bad! That’s right folks: those foul, chemical-smelling, plastic-manufactory odors that you smell when you open the package of a new plastic shower curtain are actually noxious gases. No shit! Thank you…

  • How to get yourself elected

    To me, these are the only acceptable positions on current political issues: Gay Marriage. Are you kidding me? Of course gay people can get married or do whatever they want and deserve full protection under the law. It’s called equality and if you don’t stand for it you are garbage. Moving on. Iraq. Totally fucked,…

  • Am I Entertained Yet?

    I don’t think it’s too controversial to suggest that one of the main problems with our society here in the US is that the population is far too well entertained to care much about politics. Yet for someone who is quick to level that judgement on everyone else, I sure have a hell of a…

  • Just Do It Anyways.

    Read this today, it’s connected to the way my point of view has been evolving lately. There’s also a nice bridge here between “the nature of things” part of it all and the “why are we in this predicament” view of society at large. I’d been thinking mostly about the first half recently: it’s in…

  • Even a Child Could Understand This:

    Found this awesome video on Digg: Story of Stuff. It’s a 10 or 20 minute video about production, the supply chain, and consumption suitable for children’s education but with the truth instead of abstractions and suspiciously missing value judgements that I fear most educational material features. I didn’t think I needed to sit through it, but…

  • Where are the US's High Speed Trains?

    David Wolman, writing for wired: Hey America, Make With the !@~$ High-Speed Rail Already!

  • Why is the white guy the most radical?

    God, I would love to elect a black man or a chick! Believe me man, I want nothing more than the most radical change possible from this dogshit-crap-fest we are currently calling our democracy. What a perfect time for a woman and a black man to be staging serious runs at the White House! But…

  • At least someone is paying attention

    It’s hard to beat John Gruber’s opening clause here: I’ve been up to my ears in jackassery lately, -> but it’s nice to see someone in the media effectively acting like a watchdog these days. It’s not just Gruber, either. Lately there seems to be a lot of independent but popular writers in the Mac…