Without the state

Blog before wicket

A review of blogging about the Ashes on the BBC site. A welcome reminder that there are other things than Iraq, but I still think only golf is worse than cricket as a spectator sport.

'Messianic-hysterical extremism'

Ophelia Benson lays about her with great (and wholly justified) vigour at Butterflies and Wheels.

Why is it OK to complain about Islamic fundamentalism but not the wing-nuts surrounding Bush or those who promote the halachic state of Israel? (Amos Oz)

I think I'll place an order for one of those T-shirts.

Another from flickr

fear mountain #02, originally uploaded by tamjpn.

Flickr

One of the brilliant things about flickr is that it has an open API, so lots of talented programmers keep coming up with wonderful applications like this (if you are confused just type a word like bridge or portrait into the tag box) or this or this or this or this.

Flying cats

DSC_4621, originally uploaded by junku.

 

Thanks Norm

Ayn Rand - yet again

Back in January I posted on Ayn Rand and her book The Fountainhead - finding it pretty repellant and badly written. I've since come across this amazing - and appalling - description by Murray Rothbard of the extraordinary cultism around Rand when she still lived.

The all-encompassing nature of the Randian line may be illustrated by  an incident that occurred to a friend of mine who once asked a leading  Randian if he disagreed with the movement’s position on any conceivable subject. After several minutes of hard thought, the Randian replied: "Well, I can’t quite understand their position on smoking." Astonished that the Rand cult had any position on smoking, my friend pressed on: "They have a position on smoking? What is it?" The Randian replied  that smoking, according to the cult, was a moral obligation.

"Solstice Moon Mandala"

"Solstice Moon Mandala", originally uploaded by Hortonfogg.

Instructables

In a - sort of - way this follows on from the previous post. Looks like it will be a fascinating site to monitor. I discovered it via flickr, where it was described as a 'Flickr for DIY', which seems apposite, although I think it has the potential to be much more.

Sustainable Community Action Wiki

An excellent wiki on this theme here. I may be missing something, but this is the first time I have come across a Wiki for this sort of broader public use. Up to now what I have seen has been a conventional web site (eg Project for Public Spaces) or a blog (eg Neighbourhoods).

Woman In A White Dress

Woman In A White Dress, originally uploaded by lawroberts.