Category Archives: humanities

Anton ‘Mr.’ Sherwood wants to know

Posted on Sunday, 2002 March 24 by Anton

How old is the convention of writing nicknames as middle names, e.g. (taking a handy fictional example) “Tim ‘Curly’ Beamish”? Why do you see even “Tim ‘Curly Tim’ Beamish” (gordelpus) rather than “‘Curly’ Tim Beamish”? What is the convention (if … Continue reading →

Posted in language | Leave a comment

the two or more cultures

Posted on Sunday, 2002 March 24 by Anton

Bob’s Cartoons “I later discovered that, of all the disciplines at CMU, material science is the only one with no cartoons at all in their hallway.”

Posted in cartoons, humanities | Leave a comment

QotD

Posted on Friday, 2002 March 22 by Anton

Samuel Johnson 1768 (by way of the Future of Freedom Foundation) They make a rout about universal liberty without considering that all that is to be valued, or indeed can be enjoyed by individuals, is private liberty. Political liberty is … Continue reading →

Posted in history, politics | Leave a comment

the craft of letters

Posted on Friday, 2002 March 22 by Anton

Typecaster seeks apprentice. (From GirlHacker, who picked Rebecca’s pocket.) I have a friend who used to cast his own bullets; dunno whether he still does. Sometimes he used wheel-balancing weights discarded (why??) by car mechanics, and sometimes he used an … Continue reading →

Posted in humanities, technology | 1 Comment

Thinkers and Feelers

Posted on Wednesday, 2002 March 20 by Anton

Jay Zilber argues: The human race is perpetually at war — not simply between the good guys and the bad guys, nor even between liberals and conservatives. If only it were so convenient to draw the lines in this struggle … Continue reading →

Posted in politics, psychology | 1 Comment

grouch update

Posted on Wednesday, 2002 March 20 by Anton

Yesterday’s evil mood passed, as it always does. I wish I could simply accept that: but how can I trust today’s good cheer, when my life is in no better shape than it was yesterday? Well, anyway. I am reminded … Continue reading →

Posted in me!me!me!, psychology | Leave a comment

do you dig clams?

Posted on Wednesday, 2002 March 20 by Anton

Well, I’d hate to see the Googlebombing fad go by without getting in on it, so here goes: Scientology, Scientology, Scientology, Scientology, Scientology. (A couple of these were down when I last looked.)

Posted in blogdom, psychology | Leave a comment