2003.02.06
Isn't clapping kind of weird? Is it instinctive or learned or somewhere in bewtween? Does it still really mean something? The BBC traces the history of applause.
Quote of the Moment
"[Getting royally tanked] shuts down the higher level brain functions and allows the inner fish to express itself.Seems like it's a holdover from something closer to our tadpole-ish days on the evolutionary ladder. It's still mostly speculation, but interesting.
On the surface I may seem very profound, but deep down inside I'm actually a very shallow individual."
Article of the Moment
Salon pro-hawk piece, arguing that a war in Iraq won't make our Al-Qaeda issues any worse than they are. Has some solid points, though also some I disagree with. (When he asks "Iraq is a distraction from what?" that's simple; from keeping a closer eye on our border and ports, from the general smaller scale action of tracking down the individual terrorist cells.)