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Books that will induce a Here is the list of books that will officially induce mindfucks, sorted alphabetically by author. Those authors in bold have been recommended by one or more people as being generally mindfucking - any books listed under their names are particularly odd. You're welcome to /msg me to make an addition to this list. And finally, although he's way down at the bottom, my personal recommendation is definitely Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, as it turns the ultimate mindfuck: inverting the world-view of our entire culture, and it is non-fiction.

Nerd Paradise : How to Write a 20 Page Research Paper in Under a Day Posted on: 10 Cado 7:0 - 5.27.29 So you've procrastinated again. You told yourself you wouldn't do this 2 months ago when your professor assigned you this. But you procrastinated anyway. Shame on you. Pick a Topic The more "legally-oriented" your topic is, the better. Make a list ...of every possible outcome that this issue could cause in...the near future...the far future...of every person that this topic affects....of any instances where this topic has come in the news....what you would do about this topic if you had the chance/power/enough-sugar...any little detail you can think ofThe important thing about this is to think of ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING, no matter how silly or far-fetched. Reorder everything Put your most obvious argument first. Then put weird off the wall stuff, regardless of importance. Put the strongest argument for your case next. Now list the incidents that will help argue for your point. It's best to keep all this in the form of an outline. Spaces Now print it out. Write

Dalai Lama tells his Facebook friends that religion "is no longer adequate" Well, he'd hardly be the first Buddhist to say something like this. From what I've read, there are already lots of Buddhists, and historical Buddhist movements in various countries, who are atheistic and who prefer to return to Buddhism's roots as a kind of self-help, personal psychological and philosophical system—and yes, I realize I'm hugely oversimplifying that ideological stripe of Buddhism—and that's fine. And if this helps the world be a better place, cool. I'm all for it. But as an atheist I had already got to this point without making sand paintings, spinning prayer wheels or staring at stupas or rock gardens to shut off all mental processes and get to Satori. Maybe I'm just doing it wrong.

25 Beautifully Illustrated Thought-Provoking Questions A question that makes you think is worth asking… At the cusp of a new day, week, month, or year, most of us take a little time to reflect on our lives by looking back over the past and ahead into the future. We ponder the successes, failures and standout events that are slowly scripting our life’s story. This process of self reflection helps us maintain a conscious awareness of where we’ve been and where we intend to go. It is pertinent to the organization and preservation of our dreams, goals and desires. If you would like to maximize the benefits of self reflection, our new sister site, Thought Questions, is for you. Remember, these questions have no right or wrong answers. Here’s a sample of 25 recent thought questions posted on the site: Thought Questions is updated daily. Title photo by: Oberazzi For all other photo credits please refer to ThoughtQuestions.com Related 6 Questions that Will Save Your Relationships May 21, 2014 In "Life" 20 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Every Sunday

Kit Whitfield's Blog: Innocent libertinism So, I mentioned previously that having succumbed to curiosity about the Twilight phenomenon and actually read the first book, I'd blog about it. The first thing to say is this: I'm not about to slam it. (Well, the first first thing to say is that the paragraph spacing in this post may be all over the place, in which case I'm sorry. Blogger has moods.) So there's something interesting going on with Twilight, more interesting than simply scoring points at its expense. I don't think I'm the only person to make this comparison, but the more I think about it the more it yields: as a writer and a phenomenon, Stephenie Meyer bears a strong family resemblance to that other great doyenne of adolescent dreams, V.C. The most obvious, and I suspect a big key to their success, is succinctly put by Lev Grossman in Time magazine: 'That's the power of the Twilight books: they're squeaky, geeky clean on the surface, but right below it, they are absolutely, deliciously filthy.'

An Essay by Einstein -- The World As I See It "How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people -- first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy. A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving... "I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves -- this critical basis I call the ideal of a pigsty. "My passionate sense of social justice and social responsibility has always contrasted oddly with my pronounced lack of need for direct contact with other human beings and human communities.

Almost Invisible Mirrored Tree House Built In Sweden Invisible TreeHouse? Really?They said it couldn't be done. When we first wrote about the almost invisible treehouse to be built in Sweden by Tham & Videgard, 899 commenters thought it was AutoCad eye candy, impossible to build and death for birds. But they built it, one of six units in a "Treehotel" opening this weekend 40 miles south of the Arctic Circle in Sweden. The four meter glass cube looks as spectacular in reality as it did in the rendering. Everything will reflect in this - the trees, the birds, the clouds, the sun, everything. And what about the birds? The units are constructed from sustainably harvested wood and have electric radiant floor heating and "a state-of-the-art eco-friendly incineration toilet" (I have owned an incinerating toilet and they are anything but eco-friendly, using a huge amount of electricity, creating noise and a pall of burned poop smell when the wind isn't blowing. But other than that minor quibble, it appears to be a truly eco resort.

Page 1 « The Sopranos: Definitive Explanation of “The END” *Update 6/19/13:James Gandolfini died today at the too young age of 51. His performance as Tony Soprano for 86 episodes is a masterwork and right at the top of our greatest performances of all time-in any medium.The Sopranos would not have been what it was, perhaps the greatest work of art in film history, a show that meant so much to so many, without his towering performance. Below is a scene from the final few episodes that is a favorite of mine and shows the great humanity he brought to the role. Rest in peace sir, and thank you: And once again, this incredible, and now famous Sopranos tribute video by Lyle at exeterstreet, which now has new meaning Now revised and expanded, including a very revealing radio interview with David Chase in April of 2008! *Note from author (December 6, 2010): Its been over three years since the finale of the Sopranos, yet the ending continues to be discussed and debated to this day. Part II: What does Tony’s death mean? Part VIII: Who Killed Tony? Mr. Mr.

FBI The FBI’s Reading Room contains many files of public interest and historical value. In compliance with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements, some of these records are no longer in the physical possession of the FBI, eliminating the FBI’s capability to re-review and/or re-process this material. Please note, that the information found in these files may no longer reflect the current beliefs, positions, opinions, or policies currently held by the FBI. The image quality contained within this site is subject to the condition of the original documents and original scanning efforts. These older files may contain processing procedures that are not compliant with current FOIA processing standards. Some material contained in this site may contain actions, words, or images of a graphic nature that may be offensive and/or emotionally disturbing.

23 Websites that Make Your Writing Stronger We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master. ~Ernest Hemingway How strong is your writing? No matter how good you think it is, there’s always room for improvement. (***By the way, have you seen this amazing online creative writing course, “Story Is a State of Mind,” created by Giller finalist Sarah Selecky? Want to strengthen your story, empower your performance, and beef up on the publishing business? Here are 23 sites (in no particular order) I look to for daily inspiration and advice: PS If you find this list useful, please share it on Twitter, Facebook or StumbleUpon – I’d really appreciate it! 4) Query Shark A query critique site you don’t want to miss. 5) Men with Pens Fantastic articles on copywriting and freelancing. 6) Ask Allison Writing and publishing Q&A by novelist Allison Winn Scotch. 10) Pub Rants Self-proclaimed “very nice literary agent,” Kristin Nelson, rants about writing and publishing. What sites help you make your writing stronger?

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