lebaneselove
A wealth of resources for fans of the Lebanese entertainment world.

scenebyscene
This collaborative screenwriting community will accomplish an entire film script--each scene by a different writer--over the course of one year. It's destined to be crazy. Along the way, a slew of smaller challenges will be offered.

add_foreign_ljs
Looking to practice your language skills? add_foreign_ljs offers users a way to find journals written in a language other than their own.

... that's okay. I'd get bored in an echo chamber.

If you want to post countervailing evidence in a reply about a controversial topic, by all means, go ahead. As long as the discussion is reasonably civil, which tends to be the case here, all is well. If you're worried about hijacking my blog, use what I said or referenced as a jumping-off point for an essay or link list of your own, post that to your blog, and post a pointer here so interested folks can go read it. Ideally people should make an informed decision about their stance on an issue, and that's easier done if they've seen a wide range of input.

One of the more amusing things I discovered about my main SF setting is the fleet has an optional post in the command crew, D.A. It's short for "Devil's Advocate." The D.A. stands outside the ordinary chain of command, a direct advisor to the captain: specifically, someone smart and edgy who's not afraid to point out flaws in the captain's brilliant plan. Not everybody has a D.A. or wants one, but they sure can be useful. When the crew gets a chorus going, it's vital to have a reliable counterpoint to avoid falling into the "groupthink" trap.

I have some friends who are very dear to me even though we disagree on some fundamental issues; we have a close relationship based on common ground, and that makes it possible for us to explore each other's alien ideas. I have some folks on my Friends whom I put there specifically because they think differently than I do and I value cogent divergences. These include:

bearleyport
haikujaguar
stryck
wbm

So thanks, folks. You keep me on my toes.

And if anyone was wondering how it is that I manage to write about aliens who have really alien thoughts ... well, that's how. I hang out with humans who have wildly divergent worldviews. If each author's storytelling casts a shadow of the author's own worldview, mine is refractive for very good reasons.

In order to pack thousands of people into a small space and have a healthy environment, cities require careful planning and diligent maintenance. Here are some resources for making cities a safe, healthy, and exciting place to live.


Healthy Cities International
"This is a place where people interested in addressing urban and community issues along with concerns with health and quality of life issues in their communities can join and share information."

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
"Green Roofs for Healthy Cities’ mission is to increase the awareness of the economic, social, and environmental benefits of green roof infrastructure across North America and rapidly advance the development of the market for green roof products and services."

Clean Cities
"Clean Cities strives to advance the nation's economic, environmental, and energy security by supporting local decisions to adopt practices that contribute to the reduction of petroleum consumption."

Center for Sustainable Urban Development
"The mission of the Center for Sustainable Urban Development (CSUD) is to engage in and foster education and research for the advancement of physically and socially sustainable cities."

Public Transportation
"Public transportation provides greater freedom, access, opportunity and choice for Americans."

Cohousing
"Cohousing is a type of collaborative housing in which residents actively participate in the design and operation of their own neighborhoods."

UN-HABITAT Report Celebrates Multicultural Cities
"A UN-HABITAT report launched today lauds multiculturalism as an urban phenomenon that should be celebrated, not feared." 

• 13:03 Quiet morning, then lunchtime bike ride with the Grub. #
• 18:16 I couldn't make my post-op this PM, but my surgeon did a phone consult w/ me, because she's fabulous. #
• 20:19 Sipping an Optimator and unwinding. #
• 22:12 @juverna: Back-to-school snuggles for you and your dear little ones. *hugs* #
• 22:15 Woo-woo music and a lower back massage from @tutordennis, mmm. #
• 23:28 Zimbardo's Heroism Attitudes Study: Survey of how individuals perceive the behavior of helpfulness. www.socialpsychresearch.org/ #
• 23:54 Crows recognize individual human faces *and* teach other crows to recognize threatening individuals. tinyurl.com/crowface #
• 00:01 Satellite images show that cows tend to point north and south when grazing and resting: tinyurl.com/magneticcows #
• 00:15 Ictíneo, steam powered fish: 2 wood submarines built by Catalan inventor in 1800s. tinyurl.com/6s5c5m #

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This essay has a lot to do with why I can't stay in a city for very long. I need nature around me to survive. The less of it there is, the less well I do. I'm allergic to cities on every level from physical on up. I can visit for a few days, but that's about it.

Kucinich explains what's wrong with America and why. *sigh, grumble* I wanted HIM for President. He not only has clue, he has the whole clue machine. Too bad nobody else wanted any. I hate that telling the truth makes you totally unpopular.

When you're trying to solve a problem, you have to make sure that the solution addresses the root cause of that particular problem. According to this article, no-fishing zones may help depleted fish populations recover, but they don't help the problem of coral bleaching due to global warming. Well, duh. You'd need to address global warming for that. Preferably while we still have some coral left.

• 15:55 Aaand there goes the day. I've always found the fourth dimension a bit of a bother. #
• 21:12 ZOMG. @karenbynight just laced me into my custom steampunk corset, which I am wearing out to Death Guild tonight for the first time ever. ♥ #
• 01:07 @teawiththecheat: *happyglow* #
• 01:37 Evening: FULL OF WIN. #

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LanguageLog has a detailed explanation of language and ethnicity in the areas of the former Soviet Union, complete with map. If you were wondering why these folks don't get along, here's a big reason. People who speak different languages are more likely to hold different worldviews. Russian and Georgian are like oil and water. They slide over each other queasily. If you want mayonnaise, you're going to have to beat them together a lot harder. Let's not.

This grotesque article is useful to writers who need to kill off a character precisely.