Rotundus.com

Shock Value

"The avant-garde theater at Chapel Hill, however, no longer attacks the sensibilities of the students, but rather provides them with the sort of work they want to see in the first place—work that does not challenge their moral paradigm, but confirms it—because the moral paradigm implicit in the avant-garde has now become the moral paradigm of much of the middle class. This, of course, is done in the guise of carrying on the tradition of the avant-garde. What is really avant-garde today, in the original, combative sense of the term, is to stand for life, for beauty, and for truth. Nothing shocks us more."

Huh? Brand-New Chevy Volts Cost Thousands Less Than ‘Pre-Owned’ Models

The wonders of distorted tax incentives - the dealerships get the $7500 government incentive payment and can sell the car above list price (which they can get as there are production shortages).

TV Executives Admit in Taped Interviews That Hollywood Pushes a Liberal Agenda

Some of his (Ben Shapiro's) previous stuff seemed a bit staged... not sure how this'll compare

Spanish judge orders 25-yr old man to 'leave home and get a job'

The story reads like the inverse of the headline, e.g., "He did, however, order them to pay their son 200 euros a month for the next two years 'to help with his emancipation'." Another similar example is also included in the story. It does note a 43% youth unemployment rate though - yikes!

Can I See Your License, Registration and C.P.U.?

How would driverless cars impact society? e.g. "About 40,000 Americans die each year in car accidents. Would driverless cars reduce this toll? We’ll need further tests and development to know for sure. But the way things stand now, we may never get the chance to find out."

Ooops! Biodegradeable products release methane which is more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas

As the article notes with methane capture systems in a modern landfill this effect can largely be averted, so it doesn't really seem as bad as it initially sounds. Reason to upgrade landfills that don't implement methane-capture though.

That's the title of an article at On Earth, dealing with a lawsuit being brought against the FDA for the therapeutic use of antibiotics - i.e. giving them to farm animals in low-doses to make them grow faster. It seems to be responsible for a rise in the prevalence of superbugs, which kill 70,000 people per year in the US.

The article had an interesting quote from the Nobel Prize acceptance speech of Alexander Fleming, discoverer of penicillin:

There is a danger that the ignorant man may easily under-dose himself and by exposing his microbes to non-lethal quantities of the drug make them resistant

It seems that that's just what's happening and what's also currently legal.

Teen Sells His Kidney for an iPad 2. Teen Now Regrets It

I know that Apple fans can be a little crazy - but this is still pushing the bounds.

The anatomy of a milkshake: You might want to see what's in it before you drink

Yum? The A&W milkshake seems to be the target of a lot of newspaper attention lately due to what's in it - e.g. a large has as much sugar as a 6-pack of coke.

ANU students angry over Arndt sex lecture

Her offense: "I've always said women have a right to say no, but men and women should think about the impact of rejection on their partners, and some may choose to say yes a little more often."

The Bilingual Advantage

Argues for health benefits, language benefits, and improved multitasking. The likely problem in many cases: "You have to use both languages all the time. You won’t get the bilingual benefit from occasional use."

It’s Not About You

The problems shifting college kids from a pampered childhood and world into the real one, and the issues with excess individualism.

Children's play equipment too safe for their own good, expert warns

The problem seems to be that kids aren't learning how to deal with risks and are thus incurring worse injuries.

Revenge of the Tiger Children

"China's young, spoiled kids are rejecting traditional values. But can the state make Mao or Confucius seem relevant again -- before it's too late?" It seems to be China struggling with what to do with the results of its one-child policy.

Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization

A history of a somewhat lesser known part of the world. The author seemed to get rather cranky about any iconoclasts.

The Hiding Place

WW2 biography. Think I originally got it free at ChristianAudio

The Man in High Castle

I'll rate it a solid "m'eh"

Pollution and the Death of Man

Francis Schaeffer on the environment. Seemed a little dated and a bit repetitive.

Guns, germs, and steel

Decent. Basically argues that the environment and surrounding wildlife had significant impacts on the development of human civilizations.

The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires

Examines the promises made at the times that various networks like the telegraph and telephone systems were invented and broadcasting launched, with promising open access but then succoming to corporate control. It suggests that government regulation served corporate profits and slowed the process of innovation. The author thinks thogh that the currently decentralized and content-agnostic nature of the internet is likely to keep that fom happening. He's a big fan of network neutrality regulations. All told a worthwhile read, although I wonder if he's a little overly optimistic about the internet.

Deadly Decisions

More of the books that later got transformed and de-Canadianized to become the TV show Bones.