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Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Links to Your World, Tuesday September 22

Fascinating: ABC News reports on how games of Monopoly sent to Allied POWs in WW2 held tools to enable them to escape.


“You get to your PC every morning with hours of productive time ahead of you. Next thing you know, it’s 5 p.m. and you’ve frittered the day away on Digg, Hulu, Wikipedia and your fantasy football league. And no wonder — how can anyone expect to get anything done when you’re plying your trade on one of the most distracting machines ever invented? With so much available on your PC — your friends, blogs, games and even TV shows — working in a modern office can often seem as rattling as working on the floor of a Las Vegas casino.” From a NYT piece on software that can help you battle the distractions.


The NYT thinks the last words of those Texas has executed are worth printing. Too bad there’s no record of the last words from the people they killed.


A List of Money-Saving Lists.


Interesting obit on the man who wrote the 1966 “God is Dead” story for Time.


In Japan there’s a market for stand-ins when you need a friend. There’s a sermon illustration in there somewhere….


Ed Stetzer: “In response to letters—and lives—like these, the Last Letter Campaign has been launched by leaders who want to capture the heart behind them. I wrote my last letter, and in comparison to these, it seemed so… insignificant. I was not near death or about to go on a dangerous journey. But then I realized that we never know when history or death may visit us. We should live as if every day matters. Because it does. In the writing of it, something happened. More than ever before, I desired to leave a better and lasting legacy, to be a better discicple and to live more for God’s glory and agenda. I want to be the person described in my letter.”


When you call for civility in public discourse, people on both sides will assume you’re disagreeing with their position instead of their discourse. Mark DeMoss, who began The Civility Project, has been called a “bigot with manners” by the Left and someone who lacks conviction by the Right, according to Adelle M. Banks of the RNS. Banks’ story is worth a read, though I do wish examples had been cited of uncivility from the Left and not just from the Right. There are plenty.)


Use this plot generator from Slate to create a plot for the next Dan Brown conspiracy-thriller-novel. No better way to highlight the cheesiness that is a Dan Brown book. (HT: Between Two Worlds).


I have The Informant! on my Netflix queue, but Megan Basham of World magazine reminds us that the film leaves out the redemptive side of Mark Whitacre’s life story. “A cynical reviewer,” she adds, “might even wonder whether Soderbergh and executive producer George Clooney treat Whitacre with more scorn than they otherwise would have because of his faith.”


Reports that climate change is affecting the taste of beer might actually get people to take action.



"Funny that folks think Washington is the solution to the economy. In fact, one highly successful investment fund bets against Congress and wins regularly. The Congressional Effect Fund opened in May 2008 and is outperforming the S&P. Interestingly, from the time the Dow Jones Industrial Average was created in 1897, an astonishing 90 percent of its gains have occurred when Congress is out of session. This fund bets on that and has outperformed the S&P widely since its inception. In the face of those who believe Washington holds the answers, recall the words of Judge Gideon J. Tucker in 1866: 'No man's life, liberty or property are safe while the Legislature is in session.' The Congressional Effect Fund says, with solid evidence, that's still true today." David Davenport, Townhall.com; HT: Culture Connection).

Pretty Amazing Bike Work (HT: Curtis):

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