Socrates (In The Form Of A 9-Year-Old) Shows Up In A Suburban Backyard In Washington : Krulwich Wonders... When he rang the doorbell, Zia hadn't planned to step inside. He was there to pick up his fiancee who was babysitting, but she couldn't leave (the parents were running late) so Zia agreed to hang out for a bit. His fiancee said, "Let me introduce you to the kids" — the 2-year-old girl, the 7-year-old boy and, most important, squatting, with no shoes on, surrounded by ants on the back patio, the oldest — the 9-year-old — the one he would make world-famous on YouTube. This is the boy he now calls "The Philosopher." Nine is what fourth-graders are. Wait! The boy looked up, started to answer, and almost immediately Zia thought, "Wait!" The boy didn't mind. We all know smart kids, who are curious, who collect information. But this 9-year-old — what he knows is different. I Could Be Wrong ... Where, I wondered, did he learn about multiverses, free will, the odds of intelligent life in the universe? What's going on in this house? This, he thinks, may be the key.
20 GIF Reactions to Real-Life Situations (9.26.11 Here’s a fresh round of animated GIFs that perfectly characterize how it feels when we encounter these everyday scenarios. When someone steps on the back of your shoe When someone you hate says something funny When you have too much sugar When you see your ex after the breakup When you’re in the back seat and the front windows are down When people don’t warn you before taking your picture When your phone rings while you’re trying to take a nap When lyrics websites won’t let you copy the lyrics When people smoke near you When your girlfriend calls to tell you her problems When you’re watching something for the first time and say, “That’s where that GIF is from!” When you feel people staring at you When you have a message on tumblr When you have to sneeze, but it won’t come out When you were at a pet shop as a kid When you are at a pet shop today When you ask for a bite of food and your friend says, “Actually, you can have the rest.” When you’re at a restaurant and you see your food coming Related Posts:
Well, At Least There Was Good Stuff to Read: The Books of the Decade Anybody remember how anxious and thrilled we were in those last months of the 20th century? When we weren't at war and we had a budget surplus and it looked like Al Gore would be president? The prospect of a 21st century filled with new technologies, new art and literature loomed large and bright. But now, as we look back at what was decidedly a shitty decade for an incredible variety of people in an equally incredible variety of ways (evictions/invasions/bombings/etc), it's surprisingly hard to be pessimistic about the books that assessed, satirized, dramatized and distracted us from the events of the past 10 years. Goethe said that the decline of a nation's literature is the precursor to that nation's fall, and with this look back at the books that defined the decade, we'd like to tell Goethe to suck it. To be clear: there were plenty of bad books over the course of the decade, as well.
31 Quotes That Will Give You Chills I think quotes have a powerful way of conveying an attitude to you which sometimes resonates so much that you feel ‘chills’ inside. Here’s a list of the quotes which have given me the most of these “chills”. Enjoy! Some people die at 25 and aren’t buried until 75. —Benjamin FranklinMost people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions. 15 Ways to Get Past an Awkward Moment Aug 13, 2012 We’ve all been in awkward situations, our lives are full of them. Nobody’s perfect, but how you handle it can turn an awkward moment into a partial win. Below you will see 15 awkward situations and what these people did to try and turn it around. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. *Bonus* If you enjoyed this post, the Sifter highly recommends:
How to Build a Universe That Doesnt Fall Apart Two Days Later First, before I begin to bore you with the usual sort of things science fiction writers say in speeches, let me bring you official greetings from Disneyland. I consider myself a spokesperson for Disneyland because I live just a few miles from it — and, as if that were not enough, I once had the honour of being interviewed there by Paris TV. For several weeks after the interview, I was really ill and confined to bed. I think it was the whirling teacups that did it. Elizabeth Antebi, who was the producer of the film, wanted to have me whirling around in one of the giant teacups while discussing the rise of fascism with Norman Spinrad... an old friend of mine who writes excellent science fiction. We also discussed Watergate, but we did that on the deck of Captain Hook’s pirate ship. Science fiction writers, I am sorry to say, really do not know anything. It reminds me of a headline that appeared in a California newspaper just before I flew here. So I ask, in my writing, What is real?
George Carlin -"Who Really Controls America" To Our Faithful Current.com Users: Current's run has ended after eight exciting years on air and online. The Current TV staff has appreciated your interest, support, participation and unflagging loyalty over the years. Your contributions helped make Current.com a vibrant place for discussing thousands of interesting stories, and your continued viewership motivated us to keep innovating and find new ways to reflect the voice of the people. We now welcome the on-air and digital presence of Al Jazeera America, a new news network committed to reporting on and investigating real stories affecting the lives of everyday Americans in every corner of the country. You can keep up with what's new on Al Jazeera America and see this new brand of journalism for yourself at Thank you for inspiring and challenging us. – The Current TV Staff
The 7 Most Badass Acts of Vandalism Ever Photographed NOTE: Everything in this article is against the law. If you do it, you will go to jail or something. Most of us think of graffiti as an urban art relegated to back alleys, rap album covers and all of New York City in the 1980s. But sometimes an artist comes along who proves that with enough creativity, vandalism can transcend typical scribbles and dick pictures on the wall. OK, maybe we spoke too soon about the dick pictures, considering ... #7. Via Doobybrain.com As any novice vandal can tell you, the key to a good public penis drawing is execution, and nobody has executed a better one than the Russian art group Voina. In 2010, the group decided to paint a massive dick on a drawbridge in the middle of St. Via 24flinching.comWe would give anything in the world to find out that they didn't know that was back there during this shot. So picture this: You've got to cross the Neva River, but you don't make it to the Liteiny Bridge on time. So what was all the dick-painting about? #6. #5. #4.
A Point Of View: And prizes for all 14 September 2012Last updated at 17:13 GMT If a writer isn't JK "Harry Potter" Rowling or EL "50 Shades" James, how best to crank up book sales? Win one of the increasing proliferation of literary prizes, says Sarah Dunant. So - anyone looking for a good novel this weekend now has six official ones to choose from. You are probably already aware of some the names on this year's Man Booker shortlist. Like everything we are being sold in a hopelessly over-crowded market, novels strain to get their voices heard amid the cacophony. Moisturisers soften your skin. About 25,000 works of fiction were published in the UK last year - a staggering average of 68 novels every day. Well, that word genre helps a bit: you love crime, sci-fi, history, romance or literary fiction, you can usually - to misquote the aphorism - tell a lot about a book from its cover. But when it comes to predicting the next runaway success, no-one has much of a clue. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote End Quote
14 Stories That Prove Animals Have Souls Animals are capable of so much more compassion, love, bravery, and ingenuity than most people realize. Here are 14 incredible stories that reveal their hidden depths. 1. Koko the gorilla responds to a sad moment in her favorite film. Watch the video here. youtube.com 2. Alex the African gray parrot was able to count and identify colors, and he had a beautiful relationship with his person, Irene Pepperberg. Source: npr.org 3. According to scientist Krista McLennan, “When heifers have their preferred partner with them, their stress levels in terms of their heart rates are reduced compared with if they were with a random individual.” Source: dailymail.co.uk ? Guide dogs Salty and Roselle were awarded a joint Dickin Medal “For remaining loyally at the side of their blind owners, courageously leading them down more than 70 floors of the World Trade Center and to a place of safety following the terrorist attack on New York on 11 September 2001.” Source: en.wikipedia.org 5. Via: smh.com.au
The 20 Greatest Motivational Quotes Of All Time | A Daring Adventure If you like the following post, you can get an expanded version with 50 quotes as an ebook by signing up for my newsletter in the box on the right. Not only that, but you’ll get the heads up on forthcoming free books and Life Coaching specials as as well as my ebook that takes an in-depth look at goal setting. The 20 Greatest Motivational Quotes Of All Time I was playing about on Twitter the other day when I noticed an exchange about Life Coaching between two people I vaguely know. One person had made a comment (and I paraphrase) “Life Coaches are psychotherapists that can’t be bothered to finish their training” As you can imagine I had to have my say and I was told by the person in question that they managed to learn all they needed to learn about self development from reading blogs and furthermore nobody needed to hire a Life Coach. This exchange had me thinking for the millionth time, “There is no how it is, only how it is for you” 1. 2. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it.
BBC iPlayer - Imagine: 2011-12: The Man Who Forgot How to Read and Other Stories